


In All My Dreams I Drown

by mymermaidstory



Series: Fear Of The Water [1]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Angst, Antichrist Daddy Michael, But he's in a young man's body, But it's all just semantics by that point anyway, Childhood Trauma, Cuz like Michael is 5-6 mentally, Dream Sex, Dream Sharing, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Time, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, LIKE SERIOUS ANGST, Masturbation, Mental Health Issues, Mental Link, Mental connection, Older Michael Langdon, Possible underage if you squint, Romance, Slow Burn, So much angst, Soft Boi Michael, Soulmate AU if you squint, Wet Dream, Witchcraft, smut to come, young!michael langdon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-06 02:52:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 54,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16380044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mymermaidstory/pseuds/mymermaidstory
Summary: Lucy Ratsch never really though much of her dreams. She always thought they were some randomness that her brain came up with while she slept. But when she starts appearing to share dreams with a handsome young man named Michael, what she knew about her true identity shatters right in front of her eyes. Through these shared connections, she comes to learn that love isn't always black and white. She learns that evil isn't good or bad. And she learns that magic isn't just for fairytales...





	1. The Ship It Sways, Heave Ho Heave Ho

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Katiekitty261](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiekitty261/gifts).



From a very early age, Lucy Ratsch was told that she had been named after her great great grandmother. Her grandmother was a very strong willed woman who always seemed to get what she wanted. With a name like Lucinda, how could she NOT have been a strong, powerful person? Lucy rather liked her name as it helped her feel better about herself and her family. After all, her mother was raising her alone after her father skipped out on them when she was a baby. She remembered her grandmother telling her stories about her great great grandmother Lucinda. The older woman would weave magical stories about how Lucinda would make the flowers bloom in the winter or how she would always know what someone was thinking. She described Lucinda as incredibly powerful, a woman someone wouldn't want to mess with. Lucy, ever since her childhood, wanted to be like her great great grandmother Lucinda.

Unfortunately for her, it seemed that life wasn't the type to give her the same gifts as her grandmother.

Even as a child, Lucy was a skinny little thing. She was much shorter and frailer than most of her classmates. Many of them would ask if she was part midget due to her short stature. Her fragility would often cause broken bones when she tried to play with her friends, but she always seemed to heal much faster than most people. She was also far smarter than her peers, causing them to bully her even more for being a nerd. Lucy tried to brush them off, but it was hard to do when her entire appearance was like a beacon for bullies. Her red hair was impossibly poofy and curly, often very hard to control, with freckles that covered her entire face and body like she had rolled in dirt. She hated herself for the longest time, especially into her teenage years.

Atleast until she started having the strangest dreams.

Lucy was always very aware of her dreams as they often seemed more realistic and vivid than most. She was also a master of lucid dreaming, which she did quite often to escape the bad parts of her life. However, it was around the time she turned 15 years old that she began dreaming about  _ **HIM...**_

* * *

 She fell asleep one night, curled up tightly in her bed, when her mind began to drift. It was almost like she was flying, traveling somewhere she didn't recognize. Everything around her was black until a light appeared on the horizon. The sky brightened and she soon came upon a luscious green field with a singular cherry tree in full bloom. She landed from her flight on the soft green grass and she was surprised at how soft it felt. The cherry tree resided on the top of a hill, overlooking a beautiful valley that was just as green as everything else. Lucy slowly ascended the hill, her eyes fixed on the magnificent tree. The soft pink petals fell around her like snow and she began to dance in them. The breeze swirled the petals around her and her hair blew wildly in the wind and for the first time in a long time, she didn't care that her hair was wild. She just felt completely at peace. She started giggling, playing with the flower petals and twirling around until a figure suddenly appeared behind the base of the tree. She stopped, surprised at how confused the figure appeared to be. 

"Hey! Hey there... can you hear me?" Lucy spoke up and the figure tensed, recognition clear in its body language.

"You're not going to hurt me, are you?" The figure replied, a deep male voice coming from it. 

"Why would I ever hurt you? I don't even know who you are!" She exclaimed, walking around to the other side of the tree, gasping in shock at the sight of the man.

Instead of a regular human face with regular human features, the man's face was blurred. It was like someone had censored his face. She could see his beautiful curly blonde hair and everything from the neck down, but his face was completely obscured. He wore a plain blue t-shirt and jeans, a stark contrast to the beautiful silken sundress that adorned her body.

"Everyone else in my life has hurt me, so why shouldn't you?" He whispered, still wondering how exactly he had gotten there. He wasn't aware he was in a dream.

"I'm sorry..." Lucy murmured, kneeling down beside him as he was sitting with his back to the tree, arms wrapped around his knees.

"Why is your face all blurred?" He asked, angling his equally blurred face up to look at her.

"I don't know.... I was going to ask you the same thing because your face is all blurred in my eyes as well." She replied with a shrug. He chuckled quietly, a child like innocence to him that Lucy could clearly feel.

"What's your name?" She asked, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear.

"Michael... What about you?"

"Lucinda, but I go by Lucy."

"Lucinda... I like that name." He replied with a smile. Atleast Lucy thought he was smiling as his facial expression was still blurred so it was hard to read him. Despite this, she could kind of see through the blur that he was smiling.

"Do you know where we are exactly?" Michael asked and Lucy looked around, admiring the beauty that surrounded them.

"Well to my knowledge, this is a dream. My mind made you up as well as this place." She sighed and sat down fully next to him, watching the cherry petals fluttering in the gentle breeze.

"A dream? Huh... So I guess this must be my dream too. I think I remember going to bed earlier. I guess this must be just a pretty intense dream." He mused, running a hand through his short fluffy hair.

"I wonder if we are actually sharing a dream or if my brain is just messing with me." Lucy mumbled, standing up and helping Michael to his feet as well.

"Either way, I'm just happy not to be alone..." Michael smiled again.

"Well, I'm happy you're not alone either." Lucy replied, turning to gaze out over the beautiful green fields.

"If this is really my dream, I wonder if I can make anything I want..." He mused, thinking out loud. He then closed his eyes and thought hard, trying to make what was in his mind a real thing. All of a sudden, a giant movie theater sprang out of nowhere in the middle of the field, "Oh cool! It worked!!" He exclaimed, immediately running toward the building but stopping half way when he realized he left Lucy behind.

"C'mon Lucinda! What are you waiting for?" He shouted.

"It's Lucy! My mom only calls me Lucinda when I'm in trouble!" She shouted back.

"Yeah, but Lucinda sounds prettier to me. It sounds like a princess name!" Michael then ran to her and took her hand, pulling her along as they ran into the giant movie theater. Inside was a large screen with all the video game consoles ever made and a pair of reclining chairs for them both. In the theater as well was an older woman with blonde hair and amazing makeup.

"That's my gramma! I wanted her here too... I hope that's ok?" Michael said sheepishly, waving to the woman who blew him a kiss in response before lighting up a cigarette.

"Yeah, that's totally fine! It's natural to want to spend time with your family..." Lucy said a bit sadly. Michael immediately noticed her tone of voice, thinking really hard again and a rose bush suddenly spawned beside her.

"My gramma always plants a rose bush when she's upset. Maybe roses will make you feel better too?" He offered and Lucy couldn't help but laugh. Michael looked her age on the outside but he was acting like a child on the inside. Lucy assumed it was just her subconscious coming up with this strange Michael character as a way to deal with her bullying.

But if he was just a product of her subconscious, why did he seem so real?

Regardless, Lucy's attention soon went to the video game consoles hooked up to the screen. She spotted a Nintendo 64 with a copy of Pokemon Stadium in it and she smirked.

"I bet I can kick your ass at Pokemon Stadium." She teased and Michael immediately smirked in return, letting out a laugh.

"I'll take that bet!" He teased back, the two of them hopping into the chairs and starting up a fresh game. They played for what seemed like hours, each of them winning an equal amount of games before Michael suddenly became distracted.

"You have a lot of freckles, don't you?" He asked, pointing to her shoulder. Her entire body was covered in freckles from head to toe, "Where'd you get em?" His question caught her a bit off guard. Normally when someone asked about her freckles, it was because they were going to make a mean comment afterward. But Michael didn't seem the type to make a mean comment. He seemed genuine about it.

"I was born with them. My mother told me that God loved me so much, he decided to put the universe on my skin." She shrugged, "I don't really like them. I think they're ugly. They make me look like I've been splattered with dirt." Lucy couldn't see Michael's true expression, but based on the way he grabbed her by the shoulders, she could tell he was horrified.

"Don't say that! I think they're beautiful! They look like tiny little fireflies all across your skin... They're like stars..." Lucy was a bit off put by his forwardness, but if he was just her imagination, maybe it was her subconscious telling her to love herself.

"Thank you.... I usually try to cover them up, but I don't feel like I need to with you." She admitted and Michael relaxed, a smile crossing his blurred face.

"You don't ever have to hide anything from me. After all, you're just a creation of my own mind." He shrugged, conjuring a rubiks cube he had in his room into their dream world, messing around with it.

Suddenly, the world began to tremble, as if their was an earthquake. Both of them tensed, unsure of what was happening until their world went black. The last thing Lucy heard was Michael screaming out her name.

* * *

 Lucy's eyes snapped open and she was back in her bed, the sunlight streaming in through her window. The time on her bedside clock read 9:33 am. She groaned audibly to herself, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to figure out if what she had just dreamed was actually real or not. She couldn't get Michael's featureless face out of her head. The way he spoke and moved seemed exactly like a real person, but a voice in her head reassured her that it was just a dream... 

That she would never see him again.

 


	2. On A Dark And Stormy Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so this chapter is part of why there's a rating change.... Masturbation woohoo!!
> 
> Thanks to @unicornblood261 for the beta read!

Lucy couldn’t stop thinking about him all day, constantly getting distracted over the tiniest thing because she was haunted by her dream. 

“Lucy? Darling, is everything ok?” Her mother spoke up, bringing her suddenly back to reality.

“What? O-oh…. Yeah… I’m ok mom… Just a little off I guess.” She replied, twirling her finger in her curly red hair as she sketched. She was determined to draw him, even if she didn’t see his face.

“Did you sleep well last night? What’s wrong? You’re acting kind of strange,” Her mother pressed. Lucy Sighed. 

“I Just… God, I had this incredibly vivid dream where I knew it was a dream… And yet there was someone else there who also claimed that they were dreaming as well… Like I was in his dream and not mine. The best way I can describe it was like I basically shared a dream with someone else.” She rambled and her mother looked over, rather intrigued.

“Oh really? And who was this person you shared a dream with?”

“He told me his name was Michael. The only problem was that I couldn’t see his face. It was like someone took the blur tool in Photoshop and permanently smudged out his face. And strangely enough, he also said my face looked blurred. It was almost as if we shared a single mind for one night.” Her voice was trembling as she had been shaken to her very core by a single dream, “And I can’t stop thinking about him… Like I’m desperate to see him again.” She breathed. Her mother, seeing her daughter visibly upset, hopped on the couch with her and took her head in her hands.

“Hey, listen to me, love, it was just a dream. It wasn’t real. Michael doesn’t exist. He’s just a figment of your imagination. There’s nothing to be worried about, baby girl.” She kissed Lucy on her forehead and held her close, sighing a little as she looked down at the blurry portrait of the man in her daughter’s dreams.

* * *

Michael Langdon was frantic when he woke up that morning. He was scrambling through his room, trying to find his sketchbook and his pencils. The second he found them, he started drawing like he was possessed. Quick, hurried strokes of the pencil scratching across the page, desperately trying to recreate the beauty he had encountered in his dream the night before. It had only been about a week before that he’d grown into this new body, and he was still adjusting, but the one thing he couldn’t shake were the strange emotions this girl made him feel. Yes, he loved his Gramma, but what he felt for Lucy was something completely different. He didn’t want to bring her dead cats and squirrels like he gave his Gramma. Something inside him made him feel like Lucy was special… Like she deserved better.

But it was killing him inside to know that she wasn’t real. She couldn’t have been real. After all, his Gramma always told him that the pictures in his head when he closed his eyes weren’t really there… So why would this girl be any different? 

But she  _ felt  _ different, he told himself. He felt himself grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. He felt the instinctual need to touch her and caress her and-

Michael suddenly stopped drawing when his pajama pants felt tighter than normal and he didn’t understand why. All he had been doing was thinking of Lucy and his pants suddenly felt warmer and more constricting. He put down his pencil and slowly pulled down the waistband of his pants, his eyes widening with confusion when he saw the cause of the tightness. When he had grown into his new body, his Gramma had told him that the thing between his legs was called a penis and that all men had it. He was used to having it be soft and squishy when pee came out of it… But it was hard and much longer than normal in that moment. It was thick and pulsing, curving up towards his stomach as it stuck out of his pants. He had no idea what to do with it, as he didn’t feel like he needed to pee, but he just went with his first instinct which was to touch it. The second he did, he let out a gasp of surprise as he wrapped his hand around it. He was rather confused at how good it felt, as it had never felt like this before. Slowly he applied more pressure and began rubbing, the sensation intensifying. He soon realized that the more he stroked himself, the better it felt, especially when his thumb grazed an overly sensitive spot just below the tip. He watched his actions with fascination, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he focused on his penis. A clear liquid began to dip out of the top of it and it only felt even better when he rubbed the liquid all over the hardened shaft. And then his eyes glanced over to the drawing he’d just made. The drawing of the beautiful redhead with star-like freckles all over her pale body, curly hair that surrounded her in waves, and a sundress that hugged her body perfectly. The second he saw that his pace increased and he threw his head back, his jaw dropping open in ecstasy. He couldn’t control the noises leaving his mouth as something built deep inside him. It burned in his lower belly and a tingle shot through the base of his length and all he knew was that he needed to get there. He quickened his motions even more, his back arching a bit off his desk chair as he suddenly crashed over the edge. Intense pleasure flooded his veins and he couldn’t handle it. He moaned loudly as thick, white, creamy liquid erupted from the tip of his hardened length, pulsing out in spurts with every beat of his heart. He gasped for air as he slowly stopped rubbing, realizing he had made a complete mess of his shirt and pants.

“Michael? What’s going on in there? Are you ok?” Constance’s voice chimed in from the hallway as she knocked on the door, causing Michael to tense immediately. He struggled to put his penis away, trying to stand up on wobbly legs.

“I’m fine Gramma, don’t come in!” He protested, trying to clean up as Constance grew more concerned. However, the moment she heard clothes coming off and items shuffling about, she knew exactly what was going on.

“Oh God, it’s Tate all over again. I just hope he busies himself more with his cock rather than continuing to kill animals.” She muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. “All right then, well you just wash up and come downstairs when you’re ready,” Constance said with a smile before lighting a cigarette, knowing it was going to be even more difficult now that he had discovered masturbation.


	3. And I Held Tight To The Captain's Might

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all asked for more, WELL YOU GOT MORE!! ENJOY Y'ALL!!

The very next night, right after he made his cock spew white again into the shower, Michael lied in bed staring up at the ceiling.

“Please God… Let me dream of her again… Don’t let this be a one-time thing.” He whispered before closing his eyes. It took him a good while to fall asleep but once he did, the darkness soon turned into light as a familiar field and cherry tree came into his view. A huge smile crossed his face as he ran up the hill to the tree.

“Lucinda? Lucy are you here?” Michael called out. A responding tap on his shoulder caused him to spin around, coming face to face with Lucy and her shocking red hair. Even though her face was obscured the blur, he could tell she was smiling as she embraced him, wrapping her arms around him.

“Oh thank God, I’m so happy to see you again! I was so worried you’d disappear completely when I woke up.” He laughed, noting how truly real she felt to him.

“Oddly enough, I’m happy to see you too. I’m just surprised I’m having the same dream two nights in a row. That usually never happens. But I guess my brain works in mysterious ways. That’s what I get for being 15… At least that’s what my mom says.” She said with a laugh, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

“You’re 15? I’m-” Michael hesitated for a moment. How old _was he?_ The past week was a whirlwind as his body aged faster than his mind did. The last age he could remember being was 5. His 6th birthday would be coming up in a few months, but he doubted his Gramma would call it his 6th birthday. So he just went along with how he appeared visually.

“I’m 15 as well.” He said, not truly believing his own words but he didn’t want to weird Lucy out. He could see she smiled through the blur, her smile making him laugh and kick the dirt nervously.

“It’s so strange actually having a friend that’s my age… Well… _imaginary friend_ anyway.” She said with a shrug and Michael’s face dropped. She still thought he was just a dream. He hated that she didn’t think he was real. But then again… Was she even real?

“You wanna play a game?” Lucy broke the silence and Michael immediately nodded. Suddenly a table appeared in front of them with the most luscious chairs on either side. Lucy sat in one and Michael sat opposite, staring her down. Strangely, through the blur, he could see the apparent color of her eyes. The weird thing was that they didn’t look the same color.

“What did you wanna play?” Michael asked with a smirk, drumming his hands on the table.

“I was thinking Truth or Dare.” She replied and Michael quirked an eyebrow. He’d heard some of the ghosts in the house muttering something about Truth or Dare, but he never played it himself. But he wanted to try.

“Yeah, sure! That sounds like a cool idea. You go first.” He said confidently, sitting up straight in his chair.

“Ok then… Truth or Dare?”

Michael thought for a moment at her question.

“Truth.” At his response, Lucy smiled.

“Where do you live?”

“I live in a beautiful house. It’s practically a mansion. I live there with my Gramma and the ghosts that reside in the house.” He replied honestly and Lucy scoffed in surprise.

“Wait… did you say _ghosts?_ You have ghosts that live in your house with you?”

“Yep! I haven’t met them all yet but I know they’re around.” He nodded happily. Lucy made a noise of interest before realizing he managed to totally evade the main part of question: what city did he live in?

“It’s my turn,” He spoke up, disrupting her train of thought, “Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.” She replied without hesitation.

“What color are your eyes?” He asked bluntly. His question caught her off guard. That was certainly not what she was expecting him to ask. After all, most people could tell what color her eyes were just by looking at her.

But then she remembered that her face was blurred to him as well. He couldn’t really tell what color her eyes were nor could she tell what color his were.

“I actually have this weird thing called heterochromia. I have one blue eye and one green eye. My mom claims it’s because I absorbed my twin in the womb or something.” She shrugged and Michael laughed.

“I was a twin, but my brother died when we were born,” Michael replied.

“I’m so sorry…” Lucy’s voice softened and she reached out for him but he just shook his head, taking her hand.

“Don’t be. He died so that I could live. That’s what my Gramma tells me.” He smiled, “Your turn.” Michael adored games like this. He loved mind games where someone could win just by wit alone.

“Truth or Dare?”

“Dare.” He replied firmly, staring at her with an almost intimidating expression that she couldn’t see.

“Ok then. I dare you to turn this landscape into the one place you’ve always wanted to go in the world. Literally any time, anywhere, any place. Just teleport us there. I wanna see where you want to go!” Lucy challenged and Michael stared at her for a moment. He blinked in thought before nodding, taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes.

Suddenly, the beautiful cherry tree and green fields disappeared. In its place, walls began to spring up out of nowhere. A dark Victorian home was slowly building around them with stained glass windows and a large staircase. When Michael opened his eyes and saw what he had done, his heart leapt with joy. He immediately took off running down the hall, turning into the kitchen.

“Hey! Wait!” Lucy shouted, chasing after him. When she reached the kitchen, her eyes widened and her smile dropped at the sight before her. There was Michael, standing in front of a small table. At that table were four people: the woman Michael had identified as his grandmother, a woman of middle age with long strawberry blonde hair, a young teenage girl with an orange shawl on her shoulders, and a young man in a green striped sweater who looked remarkably like Michael from just the hairstyle alone.

“Michael… I don’t understand… Where did you take us?” Lucy asked tentatively as Michael stood there, trembling slightly.

Constance, Vivien, Violet, and Tate were all sitting at the same table and not trying to kill each other. In fact, they were all smiling at Michael and encouraging him to join them at the table. Michael wanted to move, he wanted to join them desperately, but he couldn’t make his feet move.

“This is my home… This is my family… The one place I want to be most in the world is a place where my family doesn’t hate each other… And where they don’t hate _me.”_ Michael stated, sniffling as tears spilled from his eyes. Lucy stared in shock at the beautiful scene before them, surprised at why he was crying…

Until it hit her…

He was crying because none of this was real. He couldn’t have a normal, loving family outside of these dreams.

Michael dropped to his knees and sobbed, gripping at his hair as the scene melted around them like candle wax. The faces of his family dripped away before fading back to the fields and the cherry tree. Lucy couldn’t stop herself from taking him in her arms at that moment. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and he did the same to her, his body was wracked with sobs as he clung to her.

“Michael, I’m so so sorry, I didn’t know…”

“ **HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?! YOU’RE IN MY MIND! I CAN’T HIDE SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM MYSELF!!”** He screamed at her and Lucy was obviously taken aback. It was in that moment that she began to think these dreams were not just her mind going crazy. She considered that this might actually be the universe connecting two damaged teenagers who needed each other.

“Michael… I don’t think I’m just a figment of your imagination. I didn’t know who any of those people were. If I was part of your mind, I would know them as you do.” She said quietly, taking his chin in her fingers and making his blurred, expressionless face look up at her.

“If you’re not part of my mind, then how are we connected?” He asked in a childlike tone, sniffling slightly.

“I don’t know. I have no clue why the universe chose us to be together. But what I do know is that I want to get to know you. I want you to feel like you have someone on your side other than just your grandmother. From what I saw, your home life isn’t exactly the best. Mine isn’t perfect either, but together we can work things out.” Her soft words made his hands clench and unclench in her dress from his anxiety.

“You said your life wasn’t perfect either… What does that mean?” He asked, hopeful he could connect with the girl.

“It’s… a lot.” She said with a sigh, “My father abandoned my mother and me when I was young. She did her best to raise me as she wasn’t making that much money from her job. She had boyfriends who flickered in and out of her life but none of whom stayed around long enough to be a decent father figure to me. As I grew older and my hair got wilder, the kids at school started to pick on me. It started with small comments like asking if they could shear me like a sheep or if they could use my hair as a blanket. However, it got progressively worse as I got older. They started tormenting me for every little thing. It started with my hair then it moved to my freckles and my height and my weight. And through all that, they never once thought about me as a person. They thought of me as a squeaky toy for their entertainment. For a while, I was considering killing myself so they would lose their precious squeaky toy… So the torture would stop…” Lucy paused, her voice breaking as the painful memories flooded back to her. Michael could see through the blur that she had shiny tears in her eyes. He instinctively reached up and wiped them away, surprised at how soft her skin was.

“Eventually I came to realize that drawing and making art seemed to distract me from the pain. I became an artist and I used my anger and depression to fuel my works of art. I used the bad parts of my life to create great beauty.” She explained, a gentle smile crossing her face as she nuzzled into Michael’s hand.

“God… Who the hell are you, Michael?” Lucy breathed, trying desperately to remove the blur that covered his face, but to no avail.

“I’m just me… I’m just Michael L@^&%*>.” When he tried to say his last name, the word came out all jumbled and garbled. It was as if the same thing that was blocking their faces out was also preventing them from revealing any major details about themselves. It was almost like whatever connection brought them together wanted them to remain connected, but only through their dreams, not in real life.

“Who are you, Lucinda?” He asked, a hopeful tone in his voice and Lucy sighed, shaking her head.

“I’m nobody. I’m just a ginger with a mental connection to a boy she’ll never meet in real life.” She replied sadly. Michael’s free hand reached up and now he held her face in both hands.

“If I could see the real you, I bet you’d be beautiful. My Gramma always says it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Despite the bad things I’ve done, or at least the things she perceives as bad, as long as I feel remorseful about it, I’m still a good person…. I just want to be a good person.” He whimpered, sniffling lightly, “The spirits in my house whisper to me sometimes. They say it’s my fault my mother and father won’t talk to me. They call me evil, saying that I’m the devil himself. But that can’t be true… right?” Michael kept staring at her, his confusion and self doubt radiating in his voice. Lucy just smiled and took Michael’s face in response, leaning forward and pressing her forehead against his.

“From what I’ve seen and heard, those ghosts are filthy liars. You don’t seem like the kind of person to hurt anyone.” She murmured and Michael trembled in her touch. He let out a dry, sarcastic laugh as if he was discounting what she was saying.

“Lucinda… I’ve done things… I’ve done things I thought were good and fun in the moment, but later I came to find out they were bad… so so bad…” He shivered even more then and Lucy felt her own tears spill over. She held him tighter, kissing the top of his head and lovingly petting his hair.

“Shh… Don’t say another word. We’ve all done bad things. I’ve done terrible things too. We can’t let those evil acts consume us alive.” Her words were loving and genuine and Michael stopped shaking.

Unfortunately, just as he stopped trembling, the Earth below them began to shake, signifying the end of the dream.

“No… No! I don’t want you to go, _please!”_ Michael begged, holding onto her desperately as the world melted around them.

“I’ll be here tomorrow night, I promise!” She exclaimed as he faded from her grasp like dust in the wind. There was a falling sensation before everything went black once again.


	4. As He Pulled Up His Trews

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GET READY FOR A SMUT/ANGST ONE TWO PUNCH IN THIS ONE! MUAHAHAHAHA

Michael’s eyes opened with a gasp, his entire body seizing as he realized he was awake. It was a gray, rainy day outside and he could hear the rain on the roof. As it slowly became clear that he was alone and that Lucy was gone, he couldn’t stop himself from bursting into tears. He couldn’t understand the strange new emotions consuming him. This older body was becoming too much for him to handle.

But then he remembered Lucy. He remembered that he probably would never have met her had he not aged up as he did. He felt free when he was with her, which was certainly not something he felt in his everyday life. Just a day previously, his Gramma had sent a priest in an attempt to exorcize him. He’d slaughtered the man, as he had bothered him when he was playing his video games. However, the look on his Gramma’s face when she saw the dead priest was anything but happy. She used to at least seem  _ somewhat  _ happy with the gifts he brought her. After all, he treated her like a goddess, so why shouldn’t he sacrifice animals to her? But the way she reacted to his most recent present made him start to doubt himself. It made him worry that all of what the spirits were saying was true.

Lucy, however, made him feel things he had never felt before. What he felt for her was completely different than how he felt for his Gramma. Instead of the warm happiness, his Gramma instilled in him, Lucy caused him to feel hot inside. She gave him butterflies in his stomach. She made his cock hard, even though he didn’t exactly know why yet. Everything about her drew him in and he couldn’t even see her face completely.

* * *

It was because of her that Michael started going to bed earlier that week. He started taking more naps during the day as well. He NEEDED to see her. She was like an addiction to him. For Lucy, it was the same way. She began taking sleeping medication so she could go to sleep faster and stay asleep longer. The two of them bonded in their own little world for two weeks, each of them bringing something new to the table with every dream. One night, Michael created an entire field of candy that sprouted out of the ground. Another night, Lucy spawned an entire forest where they climbed trees and picked apples to their heart's content. On the three week anniversary of their first dream connection, Lucy turned their world dark, making it night time instead of the normal daytime.

“Why did you make it night?” Michael asked curiously when the bright blue sky suddenly went dark. He was wondering just what exactly she had in store for him.

“One of my favorite hobbies is star gazing. I love to look up at the night sky and count how many constellations I can see. Unfortunately, because of light pollution, I can’t really admire the stars how I want to. Luckily, because of our connection, I can make the stars as bright and as vivid as I want.” She giggled. Michael smiled upon hearing her laugh. He adored it when she was genuinely happy. He quickly spawned a red and white checkered blanket and set it on the ground, lying down on top of it and motioning for her to join him.

“You big cheeseball!” Lucy teased, flopping down beside him and staring at the bright stars above them, “Look, there’s Cygnus!” She pointed up at the swan-shaped constellation, “And there’s Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.” She moved her finger to trace the bear like stars. While she was fascinated with the sky, Michael kept staring at her shoulder and arm. Her freckles caught his eye as she kept describing stars. They reminded him of the beautiful stars she was currently looking at.

“Pegasus…” Michael whispered, rolling over and tracing a group of freckles on her arm that looked like the constellation Pegasus.

“Wait, where do you see that one? I don’t see-”

“Orion…” He whispered again, his fingers traveling up her shoulder and onto her collarbone, touching three freckles that lined up perfectly on her skin.

“Michael… what are you doing?” Lucy breathed, feeling her heart rate increasing as his soft fingers grazed her skin.

“Cassiopeia…” He murmured, his voice so quiet and gentle that Lucy almost didn’t hear it. He was hovering over her now, staring down at her body like he was examining her. It wasn’t until he muttered the constellation Andromeda while he touched her neck that she realized what he was doing.

“I… I don’t understand… Why are you giving my freckles the names of constellations?” She asked, a blush crossing her face as she realized how close he was to her.

“The way your freckles lie on your skin. They look like the constellations in the sky.” Michael explained quietly, almost like he was telling her a secret, “You’re so beautiful…”

His admission made Lucy freeze. She had come to care for him over the past few weeks they had known each other. She often fantasized about him when her mother was out of the house and she stole her vibrator. But now he was telling her everything she wanted to hear. She slowly sat up, her eyes fixated on his blurred ones. There was a long pause between them, the only sounds being the sounds of their equally rapid breathing. It was Lucy who moved first, scooting closer to him before slowly and gently claiming his mouth with hers. Michael tensed immediately from the kiss, unsure of what to do until she put her hand on his chest. Suddenly, it was like his body was on autopilot. Michael kissed her back as his eyes fluttered shut, deepening the kiss and pulling her closer. He pushed her onto her back, one of his hands tangling in her beautiful red hair while the other wrapped around her waist. He then began feeling that very strange tingling in the base of his stomach, the one that he remembered came with the tightening in his boxers. The more he kissed her, the more insistent the pressure in his jeans became.

And when then her tiny hand traveled down his chest and squeezed the massive bulge that formed there, Michael immediately realized what was happening.

“You… you like this?” Lucy breathed, squeezing the bulge again which earned her a loud, whine like gasp from him.

“Yes… Oh god yes, I like that.” He swallowed dryly, kissing her again as he slowly rolled his hips into her hand. The pressure from her hand alone was almost enough to make him feel high. Lucy had only had one boyfriend before she met Michael, and he was not very pleasant. He tried to get her to do things she didn’t want to do. However, she had touched his cock once or twice before he became too aggressive with her, so she knew what she was doing with Michael. She could obviously tell he was a virgin just like herself due to his responsiveness to her touch. 

Slowly she unbuttoned his jeans and reached inside, gripping his hard cock. The second she did, Michael stopped kissing her and buried his head in her shoulder, his entire body trembling with pleasure. She began to stroke him, smiling to herself when she realized he was not only long but thick as well. He started whining and whimpering louder and louder the more she stroked him, his hands grasping at the grass behind her head.

“Lucy… Oh, fuck Lucy, more!” He begged, trying to thrust his hips into her hand for more friction.

“Shh…. It’s ok, just feel…” Lucy purred into his ear. The second her thumb grazed the overly sensitive spot just under the head of his cock, he was gone. Michael moaned loudly, almost screaming, as he erupted into her hand. His cock began pulsing and twitching as he pumped out almost inhuman amounts of cum. He shivered for a few more moments before collapsing on top of her, rolling onto his back, and tucking himself away. He said nothing, as he was still riding the best high he’d ever had in his life. He only reached over and took her clean hand, kissing her knuckles. He stared at her blurred face with a smile, feeling the ground shake as the dream ended

“You’re so amazing…” He whispered as the world faded to black for both of them.

* * *

Michael awoke with a rush, his entire body feeling a strange release similar to what he’d felt in his dream. It then occurred to him that his boxers felt much colder and wetter than normal. He moved the covers and looked down to discover that his boxers were soaked with a cold sticky mess. What he’d experienced in his dream was real. He’d actually kissed Lucy and she’d touched him in that strange intimate way he’d only recently discovered. He couldn’t help but smile as he realized it was all real. He got himself changed and he thought there wasn’t anything that could possibly ruin his day.

When he went downstairs, he couldn’t find Constance, so he assumed she was out back having a smoke. He made himself some breakfast, and when she still didn’t come back inside, he looked out the back window and was unable to find her in the backyard.

“Gramma?” Michael called out, leaving the kitchen in search of her, “Gramma?” He called out again. No answer. He shouted up the stairs and down the hall but the house remained silent. When he turned around to check the living room, he felt his heart sink. Sitting on the couch was his grandmother’s lifeless body. Her eyes were closed and one could have mistaken her for just sleeping if it hadn’t been for the alcohol and the empty pill bottles on the table.

“Gramma?” He whispered, taking it all in as the guilt overwhelmed him. Tears blurred his vision as he fisted his hair, starting to hyperventilate.

“No…. AHHH!!!” He cried out, falling to his knees in front of her. He desperately pawed at her face, trying to find any kind of life.

“Gramma! Hey! Hey, wake up! Hey wake up!!” Michael begged and sobbed, taking her body into his arms and holding her tight.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” He stammered, his voice breaking as he lied her body back down on the couch, “It’s all my fault!” He sobbed again, pushing a strand of hair out of her face as he tried to wake her again, “Hey… Gramma?!”

“The spirits in this house can’t be seen unless they wanna be seen.” A voice spoke up from behind him and Michael whipped around. A strange man was sitting in a previously empty chair, staring him down. However, it was his words that really hit Michael in the gut.

“She doesn’t wanna see me?” Michael whimpered, shocked that the woman who raised him wouldn’t want to see him. The man shook his head in response.

“I’m sorry…” The man whispered and Michael let out another sob then, trying to process the whole situation.

“Who are you?” He asked, turning back to the stranger in his house.

“Someone who wants to be seen… Someone who wants to help.” The man replied. Michael stared at him, confused and shocked. But above all else, he was angry. He was furious with himself that he had led her to this. He knew deep down that he was the reason she killed herself. Him and his demented expressions of love were what forced her to end it all.

“If you really wanna change, I think I can show you how.” The man said and Michael felt even more angry and undeserving.

“I’m a monster!” He spat bitterly, “Why would you wanna help me?”

“Because I can’t help but think of you as my son.” The man paused and Michael sniffled, “Even though you’re not really…” His offer of potential help and fatherhood was rather enticing to Michael, especially at that moment. He learned the man’s name was Ben Harmon, the husband of the women he knew before as his mother, Vivien Harmon. Ben took him into his office and began analyzing him, trying to figure out what made him tick. Michael saw it as someone trying to get to know him. This was definitely a first for him, as even his homeschool tutors never really tried to get to know him as a person. But this man seemed genuine… Maybe he would actually be helpful…


	5. You Haven't Slept

The two of them talked until the sun went down and Michael knew he had to tell Lucy all about what had happened. Ben, however, noticed Michael’s strange eagerness to get to bed so early.

“So are you just more of a morning person or do you always enjoy going to bed this early?” Ben asked, following Michael down the hall.

“It’s not that… I just… I tend to have these incredible dreams with this wonderful girl and she’s been the most positive thing in my life for a while.” Michael admitted and Ben quirked an eyebrow.

“You act as if you’re sharing dreams with another human being rather than just lucid dreaming.”

“That’s exactly what it is. Her name is Lucinda, although she prefers Lucy, and we’ve been talking and interacting in our sleep every night for the past month.” He explained and Ben made a mental note to ask him later about this Lucinda character.

“Um… Ok then… Well if you see her tonight, tell her I said hi.” Ben replied and Michael nodded, hurrying up the stairs to his bedroom. Even though his talk with Ben was rather helpful, he didn’t share the same connection with him that he did with Lucy. He needed to see her, especially after what happened with Constance. He forced himself into the dream world that night, taking deep breaths as he opened his eyes in his dream. He was once again in the familiar green field with the single cherry tree on the hill. Beside the cherry tree was Lucy with a sketchbook in her lap, occasionally looking up at the tree as she drew.

“Lucinda…” Michael spoke up and she looked over at him, a half visible smile crossing her blurred face. However, when she sensed the sadness and darkness radiating off him, she dropped her art supplies and took off running to him.

“Michael… Michael what’s wrong?! Tell me what’s wrong!” She asked worriedly and it only took a few seconds for Michael to break down completely. He sobbed loudly and desperately, collapsing into Lucy’s arms. At that moment,  Lucy could quite literally feel his emotions. She had gained such a connection to Michael over the time they spent together that she was easily able to sense what he was feeling.

And at that moment, she was consumed by his guilt and grief.

“My Gramma’s dead! She killed herself to get away from me!” He cried out, gripping Lucy’s curly red hair in his fists. Lucy said nothing. She only fell to her knees with Michael in her arms, holding him as close as she possibly could. She just let him let it all out for as long as he needed.

After nearly five minutes of him sobbing and whispering “it’s all my fault!” into her shoulder, Michael finally began to calm down.

“Andromeda… Cassiopeia… Orion…” He whimpered quietly, his fingers delicately tracing her exposed freckles. She seemed to be the only genuine source of calm and stability that he had in his life.

“I’m so sorry, Michael. It’s not your fault, I promise you. There was probably far more going on with your Gramma than you could’ve ever known. I bet you there were things about her she never told you.” Lucy did her best to try and soothe him. She was very good at giving compliments but no very good at receiving them. Michael just sniffled and remained in her arms, not wanting to let go over the fear that she would disappear again.

“Why would she leave me alone like that? I needed her!” Michael whimpered again, wiping his nose. Lucy pulled back, taking his head in her hands and forcing his blurred eyes to look at her.

“Michael, your Gramma was someone who most likely had issues far beyond what you knew. I don’t think she intentionally left you alone. I think she just wanted her pain to stop.” She kept her words soft and honest, as she knew how sensitive Michael was. He merely sniffled and nodded, nuzzling her face into her hands.

“You said you knew what it was like to lose someone, right?” He asked tentatively and Lucy raised an eyebrow in question.

“I did lose my father, but that was because he left my mother and me when I was very young. I don’t really know much about him. The only loss I’ve known is the loss of myself. I feel like the bullies at my school have started to tear me apart as a person, making me feel like I’m not even human anymore. And that hurts like a bitch.” Her voice quivered with emotion and suddenly it seemed as if all of Michael’s sadness vanished. His personal anguish was abruptly replaced with hatred, worry, anger at those who hurt Lucy, and compassion for her own feelings.

“Those who’ve harmed you deserve to die… If I was with you right now, I would slaughter every last one of those fools who dared to make you feel less than.” His strange and sudden change in personality caught Lucy off guard. She had never really seen this dark side of him before.

“Michael… No one deserves to die. Even though they’ve hurt me beyond repair, they don’t deserve death for it.” Lucy murmured and Michael’s anger faded. His face dropped as he realized his internal need to kill had reared its ugly head once again. He had spoken to Ben earlier that day about that dark urge. He absolutely hated the burning hatred and evil he had deep down inside him.

“I… I’m sorry…. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! I told you I’m a monster!” He tore himself from her arms, yanking at his strawberry blonde hair.

“Michael! Michael stop it! You’re not a monster!” Lucy protested and held him close once again, burying her face into the crook of his neck, “You’re not a monster, my darling… You’re just a boy with a lot of problems. You’re a teenager like me with more going on in your head than you can handle at once.” Lucy breathed hard, taking his hand and pressing it over her heart. Michael slowed down then, staring at where she had put his hand.

“I don’t deserve you, Lucinda.” He whispered, shaking his head but Lucy chuckled, taking his chin in between her fingers.

“You deserve so much more than what you have. You are smart, you are kind, and you are important!” She pleaded with him, tears forming in her eyes, “You’re the only thing in my life right now that makes me feel anything… I love you, Michael.” She admitted, her admission making him let out a soft sigh. He said nothing in response before he leaned over and kissed her, his soft lips meeting hers. Even though she couldn’t really see his face, she could feel it, and she couldn’t stop herself from mentally mapping out his features.

The two of them spent the rest of the dream in each others embrace, Lucy’s fingers dancing across his chest while Michael was playing with her hair. When the ground began to shake, signifying the end of the dream, Michael sighed sadly.

“Until tomorrow, my precious Lucinda.” He purred, kissing her once more as both of them faded to black.

* * *

Lucy awoke slowly with a lazy smile on her face as her alarm clock blared loudly next to her head. Even though the dream started off troubling, it soon became everything she ever wanted. She had a gorgeous boy that loved her the same way she loved him. She felt so unbelievably warm inside that she didn’t think there was anything that could ruin her mood.

Even as she got on the school bus and endured the same harassment as always, her mind kept flickering back to Michael. When she started ignoring her bullies, they became confused. Usually, she spat back with a half-hearted insult or a “shut up!” at least, but not that day. No, that day she was too focused on her sketchbook. Ever since she started dreaming of Michael, Lucy kept a sketchbook full of drawings of him and him alone. Her dreams with him were so vivid and long-lasting that she felt compelled to draw what she saw. She also used the sketchbook to try out different facial ideas on his body. Sadly, none of the ideas she drew ever looked quite right.

That afternoon during study hall, Lucy was working on a particularly detailed portrait of Michael’s hand intertwined with hers when one of her usual bullies approached her.

“Whatcha drawing there, Luce?” Mariah Brughe spoke up, leaning over her desk and Lucy tightened her grip on her pencil. She said nothing, keeping her focus on Michael’s beautiful nails. At her lack of response, Mariah smacked her in the face, making her curly red hair fall into her eyes.

“Go away, Mariah…” Lucy hissed but Mariah only chuckled.

“Why would I do that? You look so silly when you’re pissed off.” She smirked darkly, noticing the sketches Lucy was working on, “And what do we have here?” Mariah snatched the sketchbook out from under her and Lucy tried to grab it but she was too slow. Mariah began flipping through the pages, both impressed by and jealous of Lucy’s drawings of Michael.

“And who is this? Does little miss Chucky wannabe have a boyfriend now? God that’s shocking. Who is this poor idiot and how exactly did you convince him to fuck you?” She cackled, walking around the room so Lucy had to chase her.

“Mariah give it back! Goddammit, give it back right now!” Lucy snarled. She looked around the room, silently asking for someone to help her, but the teacher wasn’t there and everyone just watched in silence.

“You know, these drawings are so beautiful, they’re bringing me to tears.” Mariah began fake sobbing as she brought the sketchbook to the water fountain in the back of the room. She turned the fountain on and threw the book into the water stream.

“ **_NO!!!”_ ** Lucy screamed, desperately grabbing for the sketchbook but Mariah stopped her. She kept her frozen in place and forced her to look at her.

“This is what happens when you ignore me. Don’t ignore me when I talk to you, you filthy cunt.” Mariah then released Lucy and she grabbed her soaking wet sketchbook. She then grabbed the bathroom pass and ran off in tears. She slammed the stall door shut once she was in the bathroom, sobbing as quietly as she could. Her sopping wet sketchbook rested on her lap as she desperately tried to salvage her drawings. Because it was such a cheap sketchbook, the paper disintegrated the second she touched it, her beautiful sketches of Michael falling to pieces in her hands. Lucy remained in the bathroom until the final bell rang. Only then did she return to her study hall classroom to collect her things.


	6. Heave Ho, He Said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BE WARNED, THERE BE SMUT AHEAD, YAAAAAARRRRRR <3

Lucy managed to compose herself enough on the bus ride home so she didn’t worry her mom when she came home. She stayed in her room for the rest of the evening, clutching to her ruined sketchbook as a means to be close to Michael. She just reminded herself that she would see him when she fell asleep and that calmed her slightly.

Unfortunately, when Lucy closed her eyes that night, and the next night, and the next 14 nights after that, Michael didn’t show. In fact, she didn’t even go to their dream world. She just continued to have regular boring dreams and terrifying nightmares. She began to worry that something had happened to him, that he was hurt or even worse, killed. But the little nagging voice in the back of her mind spoke up, trying to convince her that he was never real in the first place. However, Lucy couldn’t accept that. She couldn’t let herself believe that he wasn’t real because if she did, then she wouldn’t have anything to live for. He was the only spark of life that kept her looking forward to the next night. Without him, her life might’ve been too painful to continue.

It would be another whole week before she finally saw him again.

When she felt herself consumed by the feeling of falling once again, she couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face. When she opened her eyes in her dream, the same recognizable cherry tree waved lightly in the gentle breeze. Lucy was overwhelmed with happiness just at the sight of the tree. She knew that the tree meant Michael was near.

“MICHAEL!! MICHAEL WHERE ARE YOU?!” Lucy screamed and soon enough, a familiar blurred face appeared behind the cherry tree.

“Lucinda… Oh my god, Lucinda!” Michael cried out and rushed to her, taking her in his arms and holding her close, “Where have you been?! I thought you were dead!” He exclaimed, petting her hair as she started sobbing into his shoulder.

“No… No I’m not dead. What happened to you?! Where did you go?!” She said through her tears, pulling back and noticing that his posture had changed somewhat.

“In the time since I last saw you, I was both adopted and betrayed by a man I thought I trusted. He was my father figure and I let him into my life because he claimed he could help me. He said he would help me learn to be a good person, but his words were all lies. After one littlslip-up, he called me a monster to my face and said that I could never be helped… That it wasn’t even worth it to try…” Michael explained and Lucy sighed, pressing her forehead against his and holding him close, “You were the only thing keeping me sane, Lucinda. You help me not feel like a monster.” He whispered and Lucy laughed, shaking her head.

“Shut up and kiss me, you fool.” She smiled. He happily obliged, kissing her hard and passionately. He pinned her to the cherry tree and kept kissing her, manipulating the dream world so the day became night and the bright stars shone overhead.

“Lucinda… my precious starlight…” He muttered between kisses, sucking spots onto her neck as his hand traveled down her body.

“I missed you so much, Michael… Please don’t ever leave me like that again.” Lucy breathed and Michael could only nod as he worshiped her body with kisses. He felt his cock getting hard the more he kissed her and he couldn’t stop himself from grinding up against her.

“Oh God, Michael!” Lucy exclaimed as she felt his hardness through his jeans. She took one of his hands and moved it down her body, pushing it underneath her sundress and letting him feel her uncovered wetness.

“Wh-what is that?” He gasped against her lips and Lucy laughed, realizing just how much of a virgin he was.

“That’s me… That’s how badly I want you.” She purred and moved his hand lower, gasping in surprise when he dipped his fingers into her and tested his boundaries, “Oh yes… Keep going, Michael!” She pleaded, wrapping one leg around his waist and pulling him closer, his clothed cock pressing directly against her warm mound. She moved his thumb to her clit and when he began rubbing at it, Lucy cried out, throwing her head back against the tree. Michael, being the smart, intuitive person he was, immediately started rubbing the sensitive pearl between her legs even harder. Her reaction of moaning louder and digging her nails into his shoulder made him smile. He scooted closer, burying his face into the crook of her neck as he began rolling his hips against hers, his hardness pressed firmly into her stomach with every stroke.

“Oh God… Oh yes! Michael, I love you! I’ve missed you terribly! Baby please, gimme more!” She begged and he complied, sticking a second finger inside her and curling them, his firm touch pressing directly against where she needed him most. Her cries spurred him on, his abdominal muscles tightening as he sucked angry hickies onto her neck. He felt a pressure building hot and heavy in his belly, threatening to spill over at any second.

“I love you too, Lucinda! Oh my God, I love you so much!” Michael whimpered, increasing the pace of his fingers as the hot coil in his stomach snapped and he orgasmed hard in his jeans. He bit down on her shoulder as he spurted out pulse after pulse of thick cum into his pants. Moments after he orgasmed, the insistent pressure he was applying to her clit dragged Lucy over the edge with him.

“Oh FUCK!” She screamed, her body clenching hard and rhythmically around his fingers. Her entire body trembled with the force of her orgasm, her nails digging into the soft black t-shirt he wore. He clung to her throughout it all, only releasing her once she came down from her high. Both of them were left panting heavily as the stars shone brightly above them.

“Columba… Draco…” Michael whispered, his fingers tracing the new constellations on her skin. His blurry eyes were fixated on her chest and neck, her freckles becoming his muses, “Lyra… He murmured, tracing a pattern of freckles right under her chin. “My precious starlight…” His voice trembled as he spoke, her eyes meeting his blurry face as she lowered her legs, only managing to stand because Michael was holding her up.

“Please don’t leave me like that ever again… I don’t think I can handle it. I was waking up every morning for the past three weeks doubting that you were even real. I couldn’t let myself ever once think that you weren’t real… You’re the only thing I have left to live for.” Lucy was in tears once more, shaken from both her orgasm and her emotions. Michael just gave her a blurry smile and caressed her face.

“Even if I do leave you again, for some stupid reason, I can assure you that I’m real. I can promise you I’ll never leave you. Regardless of where I am in the world, I will never leave you, my love. I love you, Lucinda, and no force in heaven or on Earth could stop me from feeling that.” His words made her smile and kiss him back deeply.

The two of them spent the rest of the dream lying in the grass, holding each other in their arms. Michael kept lazily drawing constellations on her body while Lucy imagined what his face looked like. It truly irritated her to no end that she couldn’t see his face unblurred.

“Why do you think the universe brought us together?” Lucy asked as Michael placed wet open-mouthed kisses to her shoulder.

“I’m not exactly sure. But then again, I’m able to do things in real life that most people can’t do. I’m able to move things with my mind and start fires wherever and whenever I want.” He mused and Lucy rolled over, suddenly very intrigued.

“Wait… You have magical powers? When did you start having those?!”

“Only like a week ago. I was dealing with some unwanted guests in my house when I discovered them. I guess I’m a wizard, like Harry Potter. If I am like Harry Potter, I know for a fact I’m a Slytherin.” He teased, kissing her again and she laughed, smacking him playfully.

“I wish I had magical powers. If I did, I’d use a locator spell to teleport myself to you in real life. I hate that we can only see each other in our dreams.” Her voice turned sad but Michael took his face in her hands, making her look at him.

“Hey, what did I just tell you? Even though I’m not with you in person, I’ll always be here for you. I love you more than I can possibly say. I promise we will find each other one day…” His voice was soft and honest as his thumb lovingly stroked her cheek.

“I wish this dream didn’t have to end. I wish we could just stay here together, you and I, for the rest of our lives.” She reached up and lazily began playing with his hair as she suddenly spawned fireflies that flew around him. They lit up Michael’s blurry face in a way that made him seem angelic and Lucy loved him even more because of it.

And then the ground began to tremble as they were pulled apart yet again.

“I love you, Michael!” She cried out as the world around them began to darken.

“I know…” He replied, kissing her delicately before both of them faded into darkness.


	7. In Many Suns And Moons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh yes, gotta love that heartbreaking angst!!!

Lucy awoke with early in the morning with sadness clear on her face. She hated the fact that she had been separated from Michael for a month only to get one night back with him. He was like a drug that she desperately needed to survive, so to only get him one night after three weeks of absence was like going through withdrawls. However, she knew that she would see him the next night and the night after that…

Or at least she THOUGHT she’d see him the next night.

Little did she know that a few cities away in Los Angeles, the man she loved had been awakened early in the morning as well.

Michael had sensed the change in the house the very second the strangers had entered. He quickly changed out of his wet sticky boxers and threw a shirt on before going downstairs, stopping on the small landing when he came face to face with three strangers.

“I am in the presence of my Lord…” The man in the center of the trio spoke when he saw Michael. All three of them bowed to him while he watched them through confused and sleepy eyes.

“Who’re you?” He slurred, groggy as hell as he watched the three strangers.

“I am Anton La Vey, black pope of the church of Satan, and these are my cardinals.” The man explained, “I faked my death to prepare for this day…” Michael’s interest was immediately piqued when the man described what he did to get there. Someone faked their own death just to meet HIM?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Michael replied, still half asleep as he descended the stairs to meet Anton and his cardinals, “What’s going on here?”

“We followed a dark star from the west!” One of the cardinals spoke up, “The signs are impossible to miss. The temperature in this house, a home build over the portal to Hell, the crows worshipping from above!” She sounded excited beyond belief but Michael was still confused.

“The omens are complete,” The other cardinal chimed in, “You’re the chosen one.”

_ Chosen one?  _ Michael thought to himself. What could he have possibly been chosen for? Did this have something to do with Lucy and their dream connection? Whatever the reasoning, Michael didn’t question it. There were three people standing before him, worshipping him like he was some kind of God, and they were giving him more love and affection in that moment than he had received in weeks from anyone in real life.

“The time has come to remove the scales from your eyes. To show you your true power.” Anton said seriously. The second he mentioned “true power”, a smile crossed over his face. He had discovered a few abilities over the past week, but now here were these strangers saying he had more power? Michael was beyond excited.

Anton and his two cardinals remained with Michael in the house for the rest of the day, preparing him for something they called The Black Mass. The cardinal known as Miriam Mead had gone out looking for a sacrifice while Anton and the other cardinal gave Michael a cape similar to the ones they wore. The female cardinal also made Michael take his shirt off which, although he didn’t understand why, he complied to. He stood in the corner as Mead returned with a woman in her arms. Michael watched in confusion and curiosity as they changed the woman’s clothes and put her unconscious body on the dining room table.

The woman finally awoke and the three people approached her while Michael remained silent in the corner. Something inside him was telling him this was wrong, that he should stop them and let the woman go. He couldn’t stop imagining that the woman was Lucy and that they had kidnapped her just for him.

Unfortunately, this was not the case, and he knew they were planning on doing something very sinister to her.

The three of them took their hoods off and Anton began whispering strange words to the frightened woman. He then leaned over and kissed her, much in the same way Michael had kissed Lucy in their dream world, but he knew this was nothing like that. The woman was even more frightened now as Anton handed one cardinal a knife. The female cardinal looked over at Michael with a gentle smile.

“For you, Michael!” She murmured and Michael was suddenly amazed and horrified as he realized what was about to happen, “It’s all for you… HAIL SATAN!!” She screamed before plunging the blade into the woman’s chest. Michael’s eyes went wide in fear and shock as he witnessed the murder of an innocent woman. A voice inside him was screaming at them to stop, to make him stop them and end the poor girl’s suffering.

But soon there came a louder voice in his mind. A deep, masculine, demonic voice from within his soul told him to stay and watch, to feel joy at the sacrifice that was being given to him.

Anton then took the knife and dragged it up the woman’s chest, causing her to scream in agony. Michael was trembling then, the two sides of his psyche battling each other as he was both horrified and impressed by the sight before him. Anton then reached inside the woman’s open chest cavity, pressing his hand deeper inside as the woman screamed even louder before she suddenly went silent. Michael was shocked when Anton pulled the woman’s heart out with his bare hand and placed it in a bowl that Mrs. Mead was holding. Michael’s jaw dropped in disgust and horror but also in awe as Mrs. Mead slowly approached him with the heart.

Suddenly, Michael felt something take over his body. It was like he was no longer himself. It felt like a dark, heavy presence had consumed him whole. His last waking thought before taking the woman’s heart in his hand was of Lucy. What would she think of him if she saw him like this? Would she still love him or would she abandon him like everyone else?

The next thing he knew, he was compelled by that dark force to take a bite out of the still warm heart in his hand. Normally he would’ve been absolutely revolted by his actions, but whatever had consumed his mind was now in control. He heard Anton whisper the words “Ave Satanas” off to the side, but Michael said nothing.

Michael Langdon was no longer in control… The Antichrist was now in full possession of his body.

**_“Father… I am with you now…”_ **

* * *

Michael finally returned to himself about two days later. He realized he was no longer in the house he grew up in, but a strangers house he had never been in. The bed he was on was strangely comfortable but his fear and guilt began to overwhelm the peace and comfort he felt in the new room. He had just taken part in a sacrificial ritual of an innocent young woman and he’d eaten her heart. Michael immediately started tearing up as he realized he had truly become what everyone said he was.

He had become the monster they all feared.

And now he had abandoned Lucy once again after finally admitting his love for her. He’d promised her he’d be there for her and since he’d not been himself for two whole days, she hadn’t seen him in their dreams in that time frame. He’d failed her. He’d let himself open his heart to her only to slam it shut moments later.

“I’m so sorry, Lucinda…” Michael whispered to himself, closing his eyes and internally shutting the gates to their dream world on his side. He knew that whatever had taken over his mind was dangerous. He was no longer the naive young man Lucy had fallen in love with. He was a monster through and through, and he didn’t want to cause her any more pain than he already had. 

He loved her, so he was letting her go.

* * *

Michael had promised her that he would see her again. He promised that he would come back the next night in his dreams for her. She was waiting for him when she closed her eyes that night. But when her mind replaced their meeting place with some random garbage she couldn’t control, Lucy became worried. He had done this before, promising to see her again only to vanish into thin air. She tried to hold out hope. She tried to keep an open mind. But when her dreams didn’t include him for the next three months, her hope slowly began to fade.

Three months soon turned into six months and six months eventually became two years without Michael.

He had told her that he loved her. He made her feel like she was special and wanted in this world. She had given him her heart only to have it ripped out of her chest with a smile on her face. She slowly began spiraling into a deep depression. Now that Michael was no longer around, her mind began to focus on the darker points in her life. She became more vulnerable to her bullies and she stopped talking to her mother as much about personal things. Her artwork also became much more gruesome and demented with images of her internal turmoil and demons taking up the majority of her sketchbooks. She started sleeping in longer on weekends and her self-care began to plummet as she started refusing to brush her wild hair.

Her mother watched her daughter’s deterioration from the sidelines and it was killing her. She knew something had changed in her daughter and she wanted to do all she could to help. So for her 17th birthday, Lucy’s mother surprised her with a trip to Los Angeles.

“C’mon baby girl, you always used to talk about how you wanted to go to LA! Remember how one of your childhood dreams was to pose with Cher’s star on the walk of fame?” She tried to encourage her but Lucy said nothing as she sullenly packed her bags, “Darling, it’s your 17th birthday! You should at least be happy about that.”

“Why should I be excited to drive an hour through shitty traffic to what is essentially a glorified tourist trap?” Lucy mumbled. She and her mother lived in Long Beach, which wasn’t too far from LA, but her mother’s job didn’t give her much vacation time, so when she was able to find that time, she took it. 

“Because we’re staying in a fancy hotel for a few days so we can see everything you’ve always talked about. Also, I just need to get you out of the house because the way you’ve been acting is worrying me.” Her mother explained honestly and Lucy sighed, finally running a brush through her mangy rats’ nest of red hair. Lucy tried to look on the bright side. She tried to see what positives could come out of this trip, but if Michael wasn’t involved, she wasn’t very excited.

As they hopped in the car, Lucy turned around and watched her house shrink in the distance. That was the first place she’d met Michael and now she was leaving it for a few days. Maybe, just maybe, she thought, this trip would help her clear Michael from her mind permanently.

Surprisingly the traffic wasn’t too bad and they arrived at their hotel in good time. Lucy was rather impressed at her mother’s choice of hotel. The Cortez was absolutely gorgeous with its lavish art deco inspired decor filling every square inch. The place also had a rather creepy vibe to it which Lucy rather enjoyed. Their room was rather nice as well, even though the beds could’ve used an update. Lucy was shocked at the effort her mother was making to make her feel better. In fact, she was genuinely starting to perk up.

Or at least she WAS perking up until the next morning when her mother handed her a ticket for something called “The Eternal Darkness Tour.”

“Mom, what the hell is this?” Lucy asked, looking up from her sketchbook.

“It’s something I saw in a brochure downstairs. It’s a bus tour of all the most creepy and haunted places in the city. I assumed you might like it given your recent tastes in your artwork.” She glanced down at the rather dark portrait Lucy had drawn of herself, “The bus is stopping her in an hour since apparently, the Cortez has a much darker history than I originally knew and I want you on that bus.”

“Mom, are you serious?! That is the cheesiest, most boring thing I could possibly do here!” Lucy protested but her mother shook her head, shoving the ticket into her daughter’s hand.

“You’re gonna go on that tour because I agreed to meet with an old friend of mine in the city later and I don’t want you to stay here alone in the hotel room. You understand me?” Her mother stood by her decision and Lucy eventually relented, taking her spot on the bus when it picked her up an hour later.

The tour was just as boring and lifeless as she expected. All the midwestern moms that had been forced on the tour by their goth kids seemed equally as uninvested as she was. Lucy pretty much ignored the host the entire time, preferring to watch the pigeons peck each other to death along the sidewalks.

However, her boring routine was completely overturned when they reached the last stop.

“And now for our final stop on the tour of horror and mystery. Welcome to the home with one of the darkest and most depraved histories in the entire city: The Murder House!” Lucy turned to look and the second she did, she felt her blood run cold. She had seen that house before. She shot up from her seat and ran to the edge of the bus, staring at the house in awe. This was the same house that Michael had made in their dream world during the second dream they shared together.

“Oh my God..” Lucy whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she overheard the tour guide saying something about 36 people who died in the house.

“Was a man named Michael ever murdered in that house?!” Lucy spoke up and the tour guide looked at her curiously.

“I’m not legally allowed to give the names of the victims, but to my knowledge no, there never was a victim named Michael killed in that house.” The tour guide explained as the bus started to drive away. All Lucy knew was that she needed to go back to that house later that night. Michael had been in that house and she could feel it.

The very second she returned to the hotel, she tried to google the Murder House, but there was no wifi in the hotel at all. Her mom returned shortly after she did and she could immediately tell something had happened with her daughter.

“Lucy? Are you ok? Did you enjoy the tour?” She asked and Lucy looked up with wide eyes. She forced herself to calm down and focus on her mother.

“Yeah, I’m great actually mom! That tour was exactly what I needed to get me out of my funk!” She said, partially lying all while forming a plan in her head. She knew she needed to get back to the Murder House.

Luckily for Lucy, her mother was a very heavy sleeper, so she didn’t wake up when Lucy grabbed the small flashlight from her purse and the room key before leaving at about 11 PM.  She passed by a bald woman at the front desk, noticing how she gave her the ugliest of looks, before ordering a cab and making her way to the Murder House.

The cab driver dropped her off at the large metal gates of the supposedly haunted house and even with all the stories surrounding the place, Lucy wasn't scared. She was in desperate need of answers and she was going to get them one way or another. When she approached the house, unsurprisingly the front door was locked.

“Dammit!” She cursed, trying to find another way in until she heard the click of a lock and the door slowly opened before her. Lucy stared in shock at the door that opened by itself, but at least now she didn’t need to break a window. Walking inside, tears started prickling at her eyes as she recognized everything. This was Michael’s house. He had lived an hour away from her this whole time and she never even knew it.

“ **MICHAEL!? MICHAEL IT’S ME LUCINDA!!”** She screamed, desperately searching the darkness with her flashlight. It wasn’t very helpful as it was just a simple pocket flashlight, but it did what she needed it to do.

“ **MICHAEL I’M HERE!!!”** She screamed again, tears blurring her vision as she heard a noise upstairs, “Michael?” Lucy breathed, slowly ascending the stairs, the darkness surrounding her. The entire house gave her a bad vibe. She knew it was haunted, as Michael had told her so himself, but she never expected the energy to feel like this.

Suddenly, a door at the end of the hall opened and Lucy gasped in surprise. She approached the newly opened door cautiously, unaware that she was being watched by those she couldn’t see. Lucy turned into the room, her eyes widening when she realized this was a boy’s room. Her flashlight exposed the unmade bed, the clothes on the floor, the video games on the tv stand, and the papers still crumpled up in the trash can. Lucy hesitantly stepped inside all the way, the only sounds in the room being the sounds of her shallow breathing. Someone had led her to this room. She could’ve gone anywhere in the whole house, but someone wanted her to see this room specifically.

The walls were lined with photographs and movie posters, many of them of Michael’s favorite movies and bands. And that’s when she realized she was standing in Michael’s childhood room. 

“Oh my God… You’re real…” Lucy murmured, sitting down on the bed and her fingers curling in the bed sheets. She then collapsed in tears on the bed, a whole range of emotions tearing her apart. First the notion that he was so close to her at the start was making her angry. Then it was the overwhelming joy and relief she felt upon confirming that Michael was indeed a real person… That she was sharing dreams with someone who actually existed… She couldn’t stop the tears for quite a while as she was then overcome with sadness. It had been two years since she last saw Michael and now here she was trespassing at his old house and crying in his room.

“Michael, where have you gone?” She sobbed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, “I know there are spirits here who can hear me! Please, someone, anyone talk to me! I need to find Michael desperately! Please, I’m begging you, any sign that could lead me to him would be appreciated… I love him… I love him more than I can bear and he disappeared from my life two years ago. I just need to know if he’s ok!” Lucy pleaded to an empty house. When it seemed like no one would respond and she’d almost given up hope, the sound of the trash can in the corner being knocked over made Lucy scream in surprise. The crumpled paper balls spilled onto the floor and she grabbed one, slowly uncrumpling it. She felt her heart break even more when she discovered that not just one, but all of the crumpled up pieces of paper were drawings of HER. Michael had been attempting to draw her facial features, but every time he tried, none of them seemed right, so he just threw them away. Lucy sobbed again on the floor, holding a crumpled drawing to her chest when the sound of glass shattering made her jump. She whipped around with teary eyes and saw that a picture frame had fallen off a nearby shelf. She picked up the photograph and she swore time stopped. The picture in the frame made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.

There in the photograph was three-year-old Michael in the arms of his Gramma. Both of them were smiling happily and Lucy’s hands trembled as she held the picture. The words “Michael and Gramma” were stuck to the picture frame, having been spelled out with multicolored puffy stickers.

“You have blue eyes…” Lucy breathed, her fingers touching baby Michael’s face in the picture. His face was unblurred to her for the first time ever, “I always imagined you’d have blue eyes.” Her voice cracked as she clung to the picture, taking it with her as she started to leave the house. Right as she was about to leave, Lucy felt the air in the house change. She stopped in the front doorway, slowly turning around and spotting Michael’s grandmother standing on the landing with a cigarette.

“Thank you…” Lucy whispered and Constance simply nodded in acknowledgment before disappearing back up the stairs. Lucy left the house with a warm heart and a picture of her beloved. Hope once again filled her soul as the evidence she collected from the Murder House finally proved to her once and for all that Michael was real.

And that he was still out there somewhere...


	8. Oh I Will Sleep When We Reach Shore

Lucy’s answer about Michael’s whereabouts would come sooner than she thought after visiting his home. Four months after she returned from Los Angeles, she felt herself being swept into her dream world when she closed her eyes. The long missed cherry tree and green fields surrounded her once again after two and a half years. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the sight of the tree in full bloom. She had almost forgotten what it looked like.

“Lucinda…” A deep, beautiful, and familiar voice spoke up behind her. Lucy slowly turned around and saw Michael standing before her. His face was still blurry but he had obviously changed in the two years since she saw him last. His hair was longer and curlier and he had grown at least three inches in height. Instead of the t-shirt and jeans he usually wore in their dreams, he now wore what appeared to be some kind of uniform. He sported a black jacket and black pants combo with a white button down shirt and a black ribbon tied around his neck. Lucy couldn’t tell his exact expression through the blur, but it seemed sad.

Instead of feeling joyful upon seeing him again, Lucy felt nothing but anger and heartbreak. Even though she wasn’t sure their absence was intentionally caused by him, she had a feeling it was his fault given his lack of surprise upon seeing her. She couldn’t stop herself from reeling back and slapping him as hard as she could, the blue sky above them filling with dark thunder clouds as she did so.

“You left me… You promised me you’d never leave me and then you left me! You lied to and manipulated a poor 15 year old girl who wanted nothing more than to love you before just leaving for two whole years! How dare you think you can come back to me now?! What happened to you, Michael?! Where did you go?!” She screamed at him, demanding answers. Michael took the slap in stride as he was expecting her to do something like that. She had every right to be angry, but that didn’t stop him from feeling overwhelmingly happy to see her again.

“My precious starlight… I left because something happened in my life… Something dark and evil that I didn’t want to expose you to. At that time, I was hurting everyone around me and I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting you too, so I cut off our connection. I closed the mental gates on my side so you wouldn’t have to deal with my personal problems.” He explained and Lucy scoffed.

“What? So you thought  _ abandoning me  _ was the best way to not hurt me? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME MICHAEL?! That was the worst thing you could have possibly done! Your loss threw me into a deep depression I still haven’t completely climbed out of! Every night I was tormented by thoughts that you were never real in the first place or that you had been killed! I had nothing left to live for after you disappeared!”

“You don’t think I know that?!” He snapped back, “I cursed myself every night for closing our connection! Some nights I was so tempted to reopen it but I was unsure if my darkness would reach you or not!”

“MICHAEL, I WOULD’VE BEEN FINE!! You could’ve told me what happened and we would’ve worked it out!” Lucy took his hands in hers, “I loved you, Michael, and I still do after all this time, but I can’t be with you if you don’t talk to me!”

“Goddammit, why can’t you just understand I was trying to protect you! The forces that could have harmed you were far beyond my control until now!”

“What, and now you can control those evil dark forces?”

“Yes! Actually I can! I’ve been training for months now at a school that’s been teaching me to reign in my magical powers. Remember how I told you I thought I was a wizard? Well it turns out I wasn’t too far off from the truth. I’m actually what’s known as a warlock and I’m stronger than any warlock my teachers have ever seen! My powers have been growing and changing and my teachers thing I could be something called the Alpha… I could be the greatest warlock of all time, Lucinda!” Michael took her by the shoulders, his eyes scanning her blurred features.

“I couldn’t care less about your power. All I care about is you, And from what you’re telling me, it sounds like you intentionally cut yourself off from me for two years, making me think the worst because you didn't think I was strong enough to handle whatever truth you’re not telling me. Yeah… Great…. I’m in love with a fucking liar.” She stammered, turning away from him. Michael, however, wasn’t having it. He grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around to face him, “Michael, let me go!” Lucy struggled and he shook his head.

“All of this… All this time and effort it took to hone my magic, all of it was to protect those I love, and that includes you, Lucy. I pushed you away so I could protect you, and now that I have the means to, I’m not letting you go ever again.” Michael then slammed his mouth to hers in a punishing kiss, the force of it almost bruising her mouth. Lucy pushed him away then, glaring up at him. She said nothing for a moment before pushing him hard to the ground.

“If you’re as powerful as you claim, then stop me.” She hissed, kicking him hard in the leg, “Stop me, asshole! Stop me from hurting you!” Lucy kicked him again, in the stomach this time. She reeled her leg back for a third kick before Michael raised his hand and an invisible force flung Lucy to the ground. She tried to move but she was completely immobile as Michael crawled over her, caressing her blurred face with one large hand.

“Don’t you dare think I left you because I felt weak. I left you because your love made me strong, and I wanted to get stronger, and I fed upon that strength until I could finally return to you.” His hand traveled lower and pulled the top of her sundress down, exposing her bra, “You’re mine and you always have been. I told you that no matter where I was in the world, I would always be with you, and I never broke that promise.” Michael kissed her once more except Lucy didn’t fight back this time. Instead, she claimed his mouth with hers and melted into the kiss, deepening it and wrapping her leg around his waist. Her hair surrounded her head in a halo of ginger curls as Michael pinned her to the soft grass, pulling her sundress off completely.

“You’re mine,” He repeated, “The universe brought you to me for a reason and I’m not going to ignore the universe any longer.” Michael snapped his fingers and he was suddenly naked, the sky above them clearing of clouds and the light from the sun illuminating him from behind. Lucy gasped at the sight of him fully exposed, her hands caressing every muscle she saw. He then tore her panties clean off her body in one fell swoop, causing her to squeak in surprise.

“You’re a fucking asshole.” She spat, “You leave me for two years and then you expect me to give you my body without a fight?” Lucy teased, using the power she held in the dream to flip them over so she was on top. She pulled her bra off and revealed her breasts to him. The two of them were naked then in the open wilderness of their dream world, much like Adam and Eve.

Michael couldn’t stop himself from squeezing her breasts as he rolled his hard cock up against her wetness. Lucy smirked at him before grabbing his hair and yanking him into a kiss. He hissed from the pain of her pulling on his hair, but he smiled against her lips regardless.

“My precious starlight… My Lucinda…” He breathed, reaching between them and grabbing his erection. He quickly positioned it at her sopping wet entrance before helping her to sit down upon him. He impaled her on his cock in a single movement that knocked the wind out of both of them. Lucy threw her arms around him and pressed her breasts against his face all while his hands had a bruising grip on her hips.

“Michael!” Lucy screamed. There was no pain as she started moving atop him. The dream world intensified the pleasure as his cock pressed impossibly deep within her. Michael started biting at the skin of her breasts while his nails dug into her ass, rolling her hips to meet his. Their movements were slow at first before Michael flipped them over once again, pressing Lucy flat on her back. He started pounding into her hard and fast, their cries mingling together in the empty dreamscape.

“Lucinda, oh Christ Lucinda I love you!” He breathed as he started sucking hickies onto her neck. She felt every inch of his massive dick sliding in and out of her with every movement and it was burning her alive in the best way.

“Michael touch me! Touch me down there, oh FUCK!” She stammered, unable to think of the proper words at the moment. Michael simply nodded and started gently rubbing her clit, causing her internal walls to suddenly clench down around him. He let out a deep, primal growl in response, burying his face into her shoulder as he really started giving it to her. Lucy yanked on his hair again as her orgasm built and built inside her, her body getting almost as taut as a bowstring in preparation. And when the arrow was finally fired, her orgasm overtook her hard and fast. She screamed at the top of her lungs as her body was wracked with waves of pleasure, one right after the other. Michael wasn’t far behind as he orgasmed moments later, pushing himself as deep into her as he possibly could before erupting. He held her still and moaned loudly as he planted his seed directly against the entrance to her womb. Lucy felt him pulsing inside her with each burst of cum and she couldn’t get enough of it. He practically flopped on top of her once he had ridden out his high, his blurry eyes meeting hers with a very loving air about them. He remained inside her as their breaths mingled together before Lucy just burst out laughing.

“What? What’s so funny?” Michael asked with a smirk.

“I was just thinking about the fact that this was the first time I’ve had sex… And yet it wasn’t even real… So I’m technically still a virgin.” Lucy laughed again before Michael started snickering as well.

“I didn’t even think about it that way until you brought it up.” He shrugged as he pulled out of her and rolled onto his side, staring at her chest and arms.

“Pegasus… Orion…. Cassiopeia… Andromeda…” Michael began whispering the names of the constellations he remembered that resided on her body, his hands tracing over the familiar marks.

“Oh my God, you still remember that? You can still find those constellations on me after all this time?”

“Always…” He replied, doing a pretty bad Alan Rickman impression which made Lucy laugh.

“Did you just make a motherfucking Harry Potter reference? Seriously? Oh my God, get out of here with your stupid wizard jokes!”

“Warlock jokes, actually.” He winked at her. Lucy playfully pushed him before the two of them stared up at the bright blue sky together, naked as the day they were born. They said nothing for the longest time, wrapped in each other's arms as the petals of the cherry tree blew overhead.

“You know, you could’ve just left a note or something in this dream world to let me know you were ok, you big dummy. For the past few months, I had given up hope and I thought you were dead.” Lucy mumbled and Michael sighed heavily, stroking her hair mindlessly.

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry before you can forgive me?” Michael replied with a laugh and Lucy rolled her eyes

“Oh, I don’t know… maybe 69 more times, if you catch my drift?” She teased right back and then it was Michael’s turn to roll his eyes.

“You’re ridiculous and I love you for it.” He smirked, kissing her on the nose. Lucy stuck her tongue out at him jokingly, looking up at the blue sky for a moment before raising her hand. She opened her palm and a cloud of white doves erupted from her body. The doves swirled in the sky, occasionally touching the petals of the cherry tree that were blowing by. Their feathers turned pink when they did so, the sudden color change making Lucy laugh.

“Maybe you’re a witch. Maybe you have magic powers like me?” Michael mused but Lucy shook her head.

“Nah… It’s just a dream. I’ve always been a lucid dreamer and I can control my dreams rather easily. There’s no way in hell I’m a witch in real life.” She snorted with disbelief.

“Hey, don’t doubt yourself. You’re far more powerful than you could imagine. After all, your mind is connected to my mind.” He winked at her and she scoffed loudly.

“Wow, your ego is even bigger than your dick, and that is fucking huge.” Her words made him cackle with laughter and she playfully smacked him once more.

Unfortunately, as soon as she hit him, the earth began to tremble as their dream was coming to an end.

“No… I don’t wanna go…” Lucy whined but Michael smiled, kissing her forehead.

“I promise I will be here tomorrow night. I will do whatever it takes to be here.” Michael confirmed as both of them became dust, their dream world collapsing around them. 


	9. And Pray We Get There Soon

Michael’s eyes snapped open and he shot up with a loud gasp. His body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and his boxers were soaked all the way through with his cum. He stared mindlessly at the wall for a moment before letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Running his hands through his wavy hair, Michael used a spell to clean up his boxers before hopping in the shower. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Lucy’s freckled naked body behind his eyelids. The way her breasts bounced when she rode him, the way her red hair fell over her shoulders like a bloody waterfall, it was completely hypnotizing to him.

When he got out of the shower after another quick orgasm, he was surprised by a knock at his door.

“Come in!” Michael shouted, tying his ribbon neatly around his neck. The door to his room opened and his teacher Behold Chablis stood there with a smile.

“Good morning Michael. I trust you slept well?” Behold asked, looking Michael up and down as if he knew something the other didn’t.

“I slept fantastically actually, far better than I’ve slept in a while,” Michael replied and Behold chuckled under his breath.

“Oh, I bet… After all, your next door neighbors on both sides were complaining about your moaning keeping them awake.” Michael froze at his professor’s words. Other’s had heard him moaning?

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Professor.” Michael lied, smoothing his jacket in the mirror when Behold sighed, closing the door behind him and approaching the young warlock.

“Michael, please, there’s no need to lie to me. I’m the sexual education teacher for a reason. After all, it’s kinda inevitable for them to get experimental in a school full of only teenage boys. Who was it?” Behold asked with a smirk and a blush crossed Michael’s face.

“It wasn’t anyone in here… It was just a really intense wet dream.” Michael admitted and Behold quirked an eyebrow.

“Really? Your neighbors said the moans you were making sounded like you were actually fucking someone.” Behold crossed his arms and Michael shook his head.

“It was just a wet dream, Professor, nothing more. Trust me, none of the other students here are of any interest to me.” Michael repeated firmly. Behold had to hold back his laughter at Michael’s unvoiced implication that he was completely straight. Behold didn’t need to be a warlock with mind reading abilities to tell that Michael liked boys as well as girls.

“Alright, if you say so… Just be sure to use a condom for whatever sexual activity you do. We may be warlocks but STD’s are no joke.” Behold patted Michael’s shoulder before leaving the room. Michael let out a heavy sigh and put his head in his hands. At least he now had confirmation that he moaned in his sleep. It also reminded him to perform a sound dampening spell on his walls.

When he left his dorm, his two next-door neighbors gave him the stink eye so hard that Michael could practically smell it. He couldn’t help but smile then, knowing they were jealous that he appeared to be getting some action in addition to being the most powerful student in the school. He overheard his fellow classmates’ thoughts throughout the day, hearing the spiteful words of jealousy and envy of both him and whoever his lover was. Many of them wanted to be him while quite a large portion of them wanted him to be inside them. Michael merely laughed at their desperate thoughts, continuing to do the best he possibly could in all his classes. He didn’t care that his classmates kept trying to fuck up his spells intentionally. He knew he was far better than them at everything, so he didn’t have to do much to put them in their places.

And later that night, when he fulfilled his promise and returned to Lucy in their dream world, Lucy couldn’t stop laughing at what he told her.

“Wait wait, ok, stop me if I’m getting this wrong. One of your teachers confronted you about how loud you moaned and then the rest of the day, your classmates just wanted to fuck you?” Lucy snickered, moving her chess piece forward on the board they were playing on.

“Pretty much. I’ve known for a while that many of my classmates have crushes on me, but I found out today just how many there were. I was rather surprised, to be honest. I mean, I know I’m physically attractive, but I didn’t think I was  _ that  _ distracting.” Michael mused, moving his chess piece in response.

“Seriously? Michael, you are so fucking distracting! You consumed pretty much every single waking thought I had for two years! You are a force to be reckoned with, both magically and sexually.” Lucy took one of his pawns before smirking, “Ha! Shirt off baby!” She smirked, as she was currently winning at their game of strip chess. Michael slowly peeled off his white shirt, sitting in just his pants, underwear, socks, and shoes.

“You know I’m just letting you win, right? I’m humoring you.” Michael purred and Lucy laughed in disbelief. However, Michael quickly proved his point when he easily took her queen, causing her jaw to drop as she completely missed that move, “Bra off, baby.” He teased, mocking her with her own words. Lucy raised an eyebrow but said nothing, removing her bra and exposing her breasts to him. Michael licked his lips, staring at her beautifully freckled chest.

“I still can’t see how those idiots at your school think you’re ugly. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You look like Persephone, the goddess of Spring.” Michael smiled as Lucy moved her piece, only for Michael to take it one move later. She threw her shoe at him as his prize and he laughed.

“So if I’m Persephone, does that make you Hades?” Her question made him feel conflicted inside. He wanted desperately to tell her what he truly was. He wanted to bare himself completely to her. However, his inner darkness was too much, even for a beautiful creature of light such as Lucy. If he told her he was the Antichrist, he had a feeling deep down she’d run away and he’d never see her again.

“I guess so. After all, wasn’t Hades one of the most powerful Greek gods out there?” He replied, capturing yet another one of her pieces after she moved, which earned him another shoe to the face.

“Yes, he was. And he actually wasn’t as big of a dick as Disney would have you believe. Hades was the most agreeable out of all his brothers and he actually kept his promises once he made them. He also loved Persephone dearly, as he never slept with anyone other than her. And, to my knowledge, in some languages the name Cerberus translates to ‘Spot’, so this big bad dork of the underworld named his three-headed hellhound ‘Spot’.” Lucy explained with a laugh before grunting in annoyance when he made his final move.

“Checkmate,” Michael smirked. Lucy wanted to challenge but she knew he had won. As promised, she stood up and stripped completely, making the table between them disappear as she stood between his legs. Michael then slowly put his hands on her breasts, his thumbs rubbing her soft nipples. He couldn’t stop admiring the way every inch of skin she had was covered in freckles. From her blurred face to her tiny feet, he could see pinprick brown dots all over her body.

And he absolutely adored them.

Sadly, he was in the middle of worshipping her body when he was dragged back to reality. He woke up, his cock hard and wanting and it was so irritating. Unfortunately for him, this trend continued for the next three days. They would spend a fantastic night together only to be pulled apart right as things were heating up. It was getting on Michael’s nerves so badly that he decided to finally try something he was considering for a while.

One afternoon after his classes, Michael sat in a circle of candles on the floor of his dorm with a drawing of Lucy in his hands. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, muttering a spell under his breath before opening his eyes and looking into the mirror across from him. Normally, a simple locator spell like the one he tried would’ve produced the person’s or item’s location in the mirror once gazed upon. However, when Michael opened his eyes, the mirror remained blank. He examined his spellbook twice more, attempting the spell three more times, but coming up empty handed each time.

“GODDAMMIT!!” Michael screamed, punching the wall beside the mirror hard enough to put a hole in it. Funnily enough, Behold had been walking by his dorm at that moment, and when he heard Michael’s screams, he burst into the room.

“Michael?! Are you ok?” Behold asked, his eyes taking in the sight before him. Michael was grasping at his knuckles, an expression of sadness and heartbreak on his face when Behold approached, “Michael, what happened?”

“I… I can’t get this locator spell to work.” He muttered through gritted teeth and Behold looked at him confused.

“A locator spell? Really? I would’ve thought something like that would’ve been easy for you.” Behold examined his spell book and how he set up the spell and became even more confused, “Are you sure you used the right words in the right order?”

“YES! Professor, I’m certain I used the right words!” Michael now began to pace as Behold decided to help. He sat in the circle of candles with the drawing of Lucy before doing exactly as Michael had done. However, when he opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, he received the exact same result as Michael; Nothing. Behold was now triply confused before he searched Michael’s mind, finding the name Lucinda with images from his dreams connected to the name. Behold had seen the name in Michael’s mind before but he assumed she was his girlfriend back home. To discover that Lucinda was in face a woman from his dreams caught the older warlock off guard.

“Michael… Are you trying to find Lucinda?” Behold asked and Michael froze in place. He hadn’t felt Behold poking around in his mind, but the man certainly had more experience in mind reading than he did, so Michael wasn’t surprised.

“Yes…. Yes, I am… I need to see her in person. I need to see what her face really looks like. These nightly dream visits are no longer enough.” His voice trembled as his emotions were bubbling to the surface. Behold sighed heavily, standing up and facing his pupil.

“Michael, I think I know why your spell isn’t working. You’ve only ever seen Lucy in your dreams, correct?” Have you ever considered the possibility that she’s not real?” The moment that Behold merely suggested that Lucy wasn’t real, the man was flung across the room by Michael. He stared back at Michael who looked on the verge of tears.

“Don’t. You. Dare. Say. That. Lucinda IS real. I’ve touched her and felt her in my arms. She is real and you can’t tell me she’s not because I don’t think I could live in a world where she doesn’t exist.” Michael snarled and Behold stared at him in shock. The older man slowly stood up and nodded, adjusting his suit.

“My apologies, Michael… I was only trying to help.” Behold murmured before getting out of his room as quickly as possible. In addition to the spell failing multiple times, he had been told earlier that the Supreme witch and her coven refused to allow him to take the test of the Seven Wonders. If he took this test and passed all that was asked of him, he would be the next Supreme. And then he could do what he was born to do. Mrs. Mead would be so proud of him… But what would Lucy think?

Michael didn’t really have much time to consider what Lucy might think as he felt something take hold of him. The power was so strong it almost knocked him off his feet. He managed to make it to his desk before he felt his entire body being consumed whole by a force he couldn’t control. He grabbed a sketchbook and a pencil and rapidly began sketching. He wasn’t in control of his movements and he hated every second of it. He felt that the presence controlling him at that moment was the very same presence that compelled him to heat the woman’s heart when Mrs. Mead first came to him. He felt like he was being pushed into the back of his own mind as something else took over.

Michael drew for a few minutes before he was finally back to himself and he saw what he drew. It was a drawing of the Hotel Cortez sign and a voice in his head explained to him what he needed to do. He needed to rescue two young women, one named Queenie and the other named Madison Montgomery. The haunting voice in his head explained that if he did this, not only would he become the next Supreme, but his actions would also lead him to Lucy. It was that temptation of finally being with Lucy that convinced him to do as the voice commanded. He retrieved Queenie from her eternal torment at the Hotel Cortez and he freed Madison from her own personal hell in quick succession. He used his powers to bring them both back to life and the slightly demonic voice in his head was pleased.

When he returned to the school with the newly resurrected witches in tow, it was enough to convince the Supreme witch, Cordelia Goode, to let him take the test of the Seven Wonders. Michael was absolutely overjoyed. If he succeeded in the test, he would be the next Supreme, and if he was the next Supreme, he would most likely have the power to finally find Lucy in person.

And then he finally explained the situation to Lucy later that night, she was beyond excited for him.

“Baby, I can’t believe it! I’m so proud of you! Not only are you a warlock in the first place, but you’re the most powerful warlock there is!” Lucy leaped into his arms at the news, causing Michael to spin her around with a laugh. Despite how happy he was, it still upset him that he couldn’t see her face completely nor could he be with her in person.

“I just hope that once I’m the Alpha, I can finally break down the barrier separating us,” Michael whispered as he put her back on the ground. Lucy sensed his sadness and sighed, reaching up and caressing his face.

“Actually, I kinda already broke that barrier just a bit.” Michael quirked an eyebrow, curious as to what she was talking about.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that a few months ago… for my 17th birthday, I found your house. My mother and I went on a vacation to Los Angeles and I recognized your house from our dreams.” She said, a huge smile crossing her blurry face, “You have blue eyes… I found a picture of you and your Gramma as a toddler and… You have blue eyes.” She breathed, her own mismatched eyes beginning to tear up.

“If… if you went to my house, that means you must live nearby! You and I can meet finally! I can meet you there. When can you meet me?!” Michael demanded, starting to get excited as he grabbed her by the shoulders.

“I live-mmmMMM!!!” The second she tried to tell him she lived in Long Beach, that she could easily make the trip back to his house at any time, her mouth basically sealed itself shut. She tried to continue speaking, to say what she wanted to say, but she physically couldn’t.

“Lucinda? Lucy, what’s wrong?” Michael began to worry, beginning to channel his magic in an attempt to help her but she managed to finally reopen her mouth by herself. She let out a heavy gasp, trying to pull herself together as she realized what was going on.

“It seems that whatever brought us together doesn’t want us to meet in real life just yet. I tried to tell you where I lived and when I could meet you, but my mouth pretty much just disappeared.” She explained breathlessly. Despite how happy she was to be in Michael’s presence at that moment, she was becoming increasingly more desperate to see him in real life.

“Whatever brought us together has some fucked up priorities. Why are they hellbent on keeping us apart like this? Why do we have to wait until they decide? I’m the Alpha, I should be able to do whatever I want, and right now what I want is to be with the woman I love!” Michael leaned forward and kissed her, his hand tangling in her wild ginger hair. Lucy kissed back happily, her hand caressing his face before sliding down his arm.

“You’re not the Alpha yet, but I know you can do it. If you only have to pass seven tests, I know for a fact you will make those tests your bitch! You are the strong, determined, sexy man who owns my whole soul!” Lucy said dramatically. The two of them then proceeded to make love for the rest of the dream, their moans echoing throughout the vast mental space.

* * *

When Lucy awoke the next morning, she mulled over her relationship with Michael rather intensely. Even though she knew for a fact that he was real, their relationship didn’t really seem real. It seemed almost too good to be true in her eyes. After all, she hadn’t ever shared dreams with anyone before him and now here he was a man telling her he was a warlock. She believed him obviously, as Cordelia Goode’s interview outing the magical world was proof enough. However, Lucy couldn’t help the feeling there was more to Michael than he was telling her. In the three years they’d known each other, they basically became open books. Other than his sudden disappearance for two years, they’d told each other everything. He was basically perfect…

But it was those two years of absence that made her begin to question if there was something more sinister to him.

She’d heard of demonic possession where the victim had dreamed of their demon, but none of the stories she knew included the victim falling in love with their demon. And Michael, in her eyes, was the farthest thing from a demon. But he’d told her it was something evil that forced him to close himself off to her. He said that whatever happened in his life was too dark for her to handle. 

Was her soulmate really an evil monster like he claimed when they first met?

And that’s when it hit her… She thought of Michael as her soulmate.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, it pushed all other worries about Michael to the back of her mind. If he was her soulmate, that would completely explain everything about their relationship. The dream sharing, the inability to give crucial details about each other's whereabouts, even the two-year long gap caused by an evil force. If they were truly soulmates as she theorized, the universe had a place and a time for them to meet in person. Lucy was a heavy believer in fate, so they must’ve been getting too close for the universe’s liking. That would explain why it sent out an evil force to delay their meeting.

This new realization made Lucy’s heart skip a beat at the thought of him. She knew now with 100 percent certainty she would never let him go for as long as she lived. She would wait as long as the universe needed. She needed to meet the literal man of her dreams once the universe was ready.


	10. He Said Now Hush Love, Here's Your Gown

The two weeks leading up to the test of the Seven Wonders were rather uneventful for both parties involved. Lucy and Michael’s dream sharing remained constant and loving. Lucy swore she’d never forget the look on Michael’s face when she told him she thought he was her soulmate. All Michael thought upon hearing her revelation was that he agreed and it made him even more desperate to find her. It also made him more confident that he would pass the Seven Wonders… Which he did, with flying colors. In fact, he did something that no other witch or warlock had ever done: he descended into Hell and brought back a witch who had been trapped there during her own test. He was overwhelmed with joy when he was declared the next Supreme. However, despite his happiness, he knew something had happened to him when he returned from Hell. His mind didn’t feel as open as it had before. It felt like a large part of his mind had been permanently closed off. He hadn’t remembered agreeing to that as part of his deal, but then again, the Antichrist part of him was mainly in control when he rescued Misty Day. Michael didn’t really think much of it until later that night.

When he closed his eyes, he expected to see that familiar pink tree with his Precious Starlight standing beneath it. Instead, he was greeted with nothing but darkness.

“Lucinda?” He called out, searching through the darkness for some sign of life. Suddenly, a spotlight lit up Lucinda’s form, her back facing him. Michael blinked in confusion as their dreams never started like this. He slowly approached her, cocking his head and reaching out to touch her shoulder, “Lucinda?” He repeated, extremely cautious. The second he pushed her curly red hair off her shoulder, her entire body spontaneously combusted, fire engulfing every inch of her form. She let out an ear piercing scream as she was burned alive and Michael jumped into the fire, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to save her. However, when he rolled her over on the black floor, her body disintegrated into millions of little cherry blossom petals.

“Lucinda?!” Michael breathed as she slowly crumbled into flower petals in his arms, the petals flying into the air before combusting once more. The fire in the black sky formed an upside-down cross before turning into the shape of a human being. The fire extinguished itself and Michael was now face to face with himself…

Or at least he thought it was himself. It looked like him but with a pale white face and black eyes. Michael stood up on shaky feet and faced the dark version of himself, the Antichrist version of himself.

“What have you done with Lucy?” Michael growled through gritted teeth. The Antichrist just laughed in his face, beginning to circle him like a shark.

“ _You pushed her away. By your own selfish desire for more power, I became stronger, and you lost the one thing you were most desperate for in the process._ ” The Antichrist explained. He waved his hand and revealed a large golden gate. Michael’s familiar dream world was on the other side, the cherry blossom petals fluttering in the wind. Lucy was sitting at the base of the tree, clutching at her hair as she sobbed into her arms. Michael ran to the gate, trying desperately to open it, but he was failing miserably.

“Lucinda! Lucy!! Lucy, I’m here!! Look at me, I’m here!!” Michael screamed but she couldn’t hear him. The Antichrist then put a hand on his shoulder, throwing him to the ground, “What did you do to her?! What did you do to  _ me?!”  _ Michael demanded, looking up at the white-faced version of himself with tears in his eyes.

_“To her, I’ve done nothing. To you… well… I’ve helped you become the man you were meant to be. When you freed Misty Day, you freed me as well. And now we are officially one and the same. We are the Antichrist, and together we shall cleanse the Earth as we were born to do!_ ” The Antichrist then merged with Michael, his ice blue eyes turning completely black.

Michael awoke in a cold sweat the next morning, fear and terror surging through his veins. He and The Antichrist were the same person and something happened to Lucy. He could feel it deep down in his bones that something was wrong and it made him feel sick to his stomach. If she had been hurt because of him, he’d never forgive himself.

The next few days were spent in an almost blacked out haze. Michael was in the library for hours on end, searching for any spell or ritual he could find that would bring him to Lucy. With every night he didn’t dream of her, his gut feeling that she was hurt kept growing. Every spellbook he tried didn’t have what he needed and slowly, the dark demonic voice in his head started sounding more and more enticing. It was telling him to perform a very specific ritual, a ritual that would connect him to Lucy for good, but it would come at a heavy price. He kept searching for another few days until his frustration and exhaustion got the better of him.

Michael told Ariel and Baldwin that afternoon that he wanted to go into the wilderness to clear his thoughts. He said that the trees and wide open spaces would help him hone in on what he needed for a spell and they agreed, allowing him to leave the campus freely. On the way out, he snagged a fellow student, a young man named Eric Smith whom he knew had feelings for him.

“Michael, where are you taking me?” Eric asked confused.

“Eric, I’ve known for a long time that you crave me. I’ve seen it in your eyes and in your mind that you want me to fuck you so hard you can’t speak.” Michael said as he dragged the young warlock further into the forest. They soon came upon a clearing with a rather large oak tree in the center. Michael then slammed Eric against the tree, claiming the boy’s mouth with his own. He kissed him deep and hard, imagining he was Lucy in order to make the kiss believable. Eric melted into the kiss willingly, shrugging off his jacket as he leaned forward to kiss Michael’s neck.

“You’re so goddamn beautiful….” Eric panted, so caught up in the moment that he didn’t realize Michael had pulled out a knife until he was stabbing him in the stomach. Eric screamed in pain but Michael quickly slit his throat, kicking his body to the ground as the boy bled out at his feet.

“ _ Good, good... “  _ The Antichrist crooned inside his mind, “ _ You know what you have to do now…’ _

Michael then stripped naked in the middle of the woods, a full moon shining brightly overhead. He dragged Eric’s corpse to the base of the oak tree, using his blood to draw the demonic symbols the voice in his head was showing him. He then carved out Eric’s heart and placed it into a hole in the tree. The Antichrist then took over Michael’s body, smearing Eric’s blood over his face and chest. The smell of cherry blossoms and green grass suddenly filled his nose as he slowly opened his eyes. Because the Antichrist was in control, it lied to him. Instead of seeing Lucy’s beautiful freckled body alive and healthy as she actually was, the Antichrist showed him Lucy’s body being burnt to a crisp with Cordelia Goode standing in front of her. The Antichrist forced him to watch until Michael himself managed to break through.

The second he opened his eyes once he was back to himself, he was nearly blinded as the sun shone above him. He’d been out in the woods alone for the entire night, time seemingly going by ten times faster as soon as the ritual started. Eric’s body was now being picked at by vultures as Michael realized just how quickly time had passed since he began. He gave the boy some mercy by setting his body ablaze, scaring the vultures away before using his magic to clean all the blood off his body. He got dressed and he tried his best to interpret what the ritual had shown him. He didn’t want to believe it. He was vehemently denying what he’d seen until he felt that Ms. Mead’s presence had suddenly changed.

The most notable change was the fact that her presence was no longer there. Michael could no longer sense her energy.

“No…. Oh God no…” Michael whispered, using his ability of transmutation to teleport to her. When he appeared in front of three burned corpses, he stared in shock, realizing that two of them were his old mentors, Ariel Augustus, and Baldwin Pennypacker. However, the second he touched the third corpse, he felt something akin to a knife in his heart as he discovered it was his beloved Ms. Mead. He stumbled backward as tears brimmed in his eyes. Her smoldering corpse on the stake in front of him confirmed all his worst fears.

He let out the most agonizing scream as it dawned on him that not only was his adopted mother dead but most likely his soulmate was dead as well. If she was dead, it would explain the terrible feeling he’d had for the past few days. He was in the worst pain he’d felt in a long time as he sobbed loudly into his hands.

And the moment he felt Cordelia behind him, everything became so much worse.

He turned around to face her, his tears blurring his vision as he gritted his teeth.

“It’s over.” she said, staring him down, “We know who you are. Your allies are all dead. You failed.” Upon the recognition of his evil nature, anger began to pulse hot and heavy in his veins. He wanted revenge. He NEEDED revenge. And he was going to get it in the best way possible.

“I’ve already proven to you that I can defy death!” He spat back, “I’m just gonna bring her back. And when I do, my Ms. Mead will stand by me as we watch you die.” Michael swore he’d never been angrier in his life than he was in that moment.

“You can certainly go to Hell, but you won’t find her there,” Cordelia replied and Michael felt his blood run cold. 

“What have you done?” His voice broke.

“Her soul is hidden by a spell only I can break. You’ll never see her again.” Cordelia’s words made Michael collapse to his knees. His tears sprung forth once again as agony gripped at his heart. If she hid Ms. Mead’s soul, she absolutely hid Lucy’s soul as well. If she knew what Lucy meant to him, she’d never let him have that happiness, “You’re alone.” She spoke up again.

“I’m never alone.” His voice cracked with emotion, “I have my father.” Michael kept feeling his anger build, the White Faced Demon inside him desperate to climb its way out and rip Cordelia to shreds.

“Where is he now?” The Supreme Witch asked with an almost smug tone, “Why did he let this happen?” She knelt down before him, looking him squarely in the eyes, “You don’t have to follow this path your father laid out for you. You can write your own destiny.” Michael stared back at her, trying his best to process her words. He desperately wanted a new destiny. He wanted to live a life where people weren’t trying to hurt him or manipulate him.

He wanted a world with Lucy by his side and Ms. Mead cracking jokes with them in the kitchen.

But now, as both women he loved more than he loved himself were dead, he knew that would never happen.

“You can still turn away.” Cordelia’s voice was soft as she tried to encourage him, “There’s humanity in you. I see it.” She stood up, looking down at him with kind eyes, “If you come with me, maybe we can find it….. Together.” She offered her hand and Michael nodded in agreement, taking her hand. However, the second he did and she helped him stand, the Antichrist that had been raging within him burst forth, taking control for only a moment. The Antichrist yanked Cordelia closer, causing Michael's entire body to burn with hatred.

“Somehow, some way, I am gonna bring her back. And then I’m gonna  _ kill  _ every last one of you.” The Antichrist snarled through gritted teeth, Michael’s broken voice clearly poking through every word. Michael then returned to himself, turning away from Cordelia and storming off in anger. He didn’t stop walking until he reached the woods, his heart throbbing in agony. 

Even though he loved Ms. Mead dearly, what he felt for Lucy was on a completely different level. Her loss cut him deeper and more painful than any knife ever could. He had just found the love of his life and now she had been ripped from him by the bitches who wanted him dead.

“I’m not going any further.” He said out loud as he began to draw a pentagram in the dirt, “Father, tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.” Michael looked around hopefully, trying to get any kind of sign from his Father. He let out a heavy sigh, frustration beginning to build within him, “I’m not leaving this circle until you talk to me. They’re gone… The warlocks, my Ms. Mead….” Michael stopped, letting out a heavy sob as more tears stung his eyes, “My Lucy….. Burned alive at the stake by the witches until nothing was left but ash and smoke.” He stopped, falling to his knees as he kept searching for answers, “You tell me what to do…. Or you let me die here.” 

Michael received no answers for four whole days. He did as he said, not leaving the circle for any reason. On the third night, he couldn’t stop himself from looking up at the stars. It was a completely clear night, the stars visible among the treetops. The beautiful sparkling constellations caused his heart to ache more as he thought of Lucy. He never even got to meet her in person before she was ripped from him.

“I’m so sorry…. I’m so so sorry my Precious Starlight…. I couldn’t save you…. I love you, Lucinda!” Michael sobbed into his hands then, collapsing in tears as a shooting star passed overhead. He gripped into his hair, his cries making his entire body tremble as he felt his heart practically shatter inside his chest. “LUCINDA!!!!!!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, falling onto his side and curling into a ball. Even if her soul wasn’t bound by Cordelia’s curse, he still had no idea where her body was. And if he couldn’t find her body, he couldn’t bring her back.

On the morning of the fourth day, the dehydration and starvation were beginning to affect him. He started hallucinating, seeing images of children offering him food and drink, of Anton La Vey….

Of Lucy…

“ _ Michael…”  _ Her voice sounded almost distant but he spun around, his eyes falling upon her hazy form with the sunlight behind her.

“Lucinda… I’m so sorry… Those witches, they killed you, and it’s all my fault!” Michael crawled forward, still not leaving the circle, as he reached out for her. She was wearing a plain white sundress as she approached, her long curly hair flowing in the wind behind her shoulders. She knelt down, her face still blurry as it always was.

“ _ I love you, Michael… I miss you terribly…. You are not a monster… You are loved, no matter what that witch says.”  _ Her hand reached out and Michael swore he could feel her touch as she caressed his face, “ _ My beautiful Michael…. My soulmate…”  _

“My Precious Starlight….” He leaned into her touch, only to then fall over as he was trying to nuzzle into something that wasn’t there. It was when his face was pressed firmly into the dirt that he knew he needed to find answers somewhere else. He looked up once more only to find Lucy gone, his heart clenching in response.

* * *

Lucy expected Michael to come to her that night and gush about how he breezed through the Seven Wonders. She expected to see him happy beyond belief underneath their cherry tree with that adorable way he talked with his hands… Those smooth hands that always knew how to bring her the ultimate pleasure.

However, when she was not visited by him that night or the next night, fear consumed her once again. This was the third time he’d left without a word. She worried something happened to him, as he had promised her he wouldn’t intentionally close himself off from her again. She knew that if he left her again, it wasn’t of his own volition.

One night, however, she arrived in their dream world alone. Lucy cried out for Michael, screaming his name until her voice went hoarse only to receive silence in response. Suddenly, a small note appeared at the base of the cherry tree. The letter had a golden wax seal bearing what appeared to be a pentagram stamped into the wax. Lucy opened the letter and she felt her entire world come collapsing down onto her from the simple phrase written on the paper.

“Goodbye…”

She fell to her knees in tears, realizing this was the end. Michael HAD indeed left her. He left a note in their dream world explaining all he needed to explain. The simple word “goodbye” told her everything she needed to know. Lucy knew the gut feeling she’d had since she realized Michael was her soulmate was right. She knew deep down he was too good to be true. Michael was too perfect and he didn’t belong to her. He may have been her soulmate, but he was never hers. She was his, body, mind, and spirit, but Michael never belonged to her.


	11. There's The Bed

((THANKS TO THE FANTASTIC ALLISON WEYDA FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL DRAWING OF MICHAEL AND LUCY TOGETHER!))

* * *

 

Lucy woke up screaming, her mother running into the room at the sound of her screaming. She wrapped her arms around her daughter, holding her close as she sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder. Lucy thought she knew heartbreak before. She thought Michael leaving for two years was painful enough, but now that she knew he was gone for good, it was completely agonizing. She couldn’t handle it.

For the next few years, her depression came back with a vengeance. Her mother sent her to a therapist to try and help her, but the doctor didn’t understand her when she spoke about Michael. The psychiatrist assumed she was hallucinating when Lucy mentioned sharing dreams. She thought the dreams were the result of some underlying illness due to their intensity and frequency. Lucy, however, knew better. She knew she wasn’t mentally ill. She never once hallucinated Michael and her visit to the Murder House was proof enough.

Luckily for her, because she had turned 18 right before her mother insisted she go to the therapist. The doctor needed her consent to prescribe medication, which Lucy always refused whenever it was offered. She preferred to draw her anxieties away, even when the drawings weren’t exactly the healthiest. She still had her old sketchbook from when Michael left for two years and those sketches were nothing in comparison to the new things she was drawing. “Time heals all wounds.” her grandmother had once said. Unfortunately, Lucy was starting to doubt her grandmother after all she’d gone through. As she sat on the front porch of her home in tears, staring up at the stars, Lucy finally began to doubt that she was as strong as Michael claimed she was.

* * *

For two whole years, Lucy basically forced herself to try and forget Michael. She was still depressed but she tried not to express it as much since she didn’t want to worry her mother. After all, her mother had gotten a fancy high paying job that was finally getting them somewhere in life. Her mother’s job often required her to go out of town for meetings and such but Lucy didn’t really think much of it. She just used the time her mom was gone to watch Youtube and pig out on junk food.

It was during one of her mother’s trips that Lucy was home alone and she received a frantic knock at the front door. Lucy was confused at the rapid nature of the knocks, but she answered the door anyway. Standing on her front porch was a man in a camo jacket and flannel shirt, cargo pants, a baseball cap with the words “Zombie Defense Squad” on it, and the most terrified expression on his heavily bearded face.

“What the hell? Uncle Doug?” Lucy asked in shock. The man was sweating like a pig, a look of pure terror clear in his eyes, “Uncle Doug, what are you doing here?”

“Lucy, where’s your mom at?” Doug asked, his voice trembling. Doug Ratsch was Lucy’s uncle on her mother’s side and Lucy had never met him in person before. Her mother had told her stories about her insane older brother and how he pretty much lost his mind after 9/11. She told her how Doug became an incredible Doomsday prepper, even going so far as to build a bomb shelter under his house. The man was prepared for any nuclear disaster, which logically also meant that he was a total hermit. The only thing Lucy ever got from him that proved he existed was a Christmas card every year of him and his taxidermied raccoon named Electra.

“She’s out of town on a business trip, why? Uncle Doug, what’s going on?”

“Shit…” Doug cursed under his breath before turning back to his niece, “Lucy, grab all the clothes and non-perishable foods you can. We gotta get the fuck outta here right now!” Doug explained, storming into the house and raiding the kitchen.

“Uncle Doug! Can you PLEASE explain to me what the fuck is going on?!

“There’s a bomb comin Lucy! Some nut job’s gone and built nuclear missiles that are gonna destroy the world!” Doug shouted and Lucy felt her blood run cold. She didn’t want to believe him, but he was acting extremely serious. When she said her mother was out of town, she swore she saw tears in his eyes.

It was only the sound of her phone alarm going off that made her finally believe him. Her phone read “THIS IS NOT A DRILL, MISSILE INBOUND, SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!” and Lucy felt nauseous. She ran to her room and grabbed a few outfits and her sketchbooks before her uncle quite literally swept her off her feet, running to his truck with her over his shoulder. He slammed on the gas and drove off down the street, the entire world becoming a whirlwind around them. Lucy watched in horror as chaos suddenly consumed the life she once knew.

Doug turned a few corners before speeding through some red lights and eventually reaching his home.

“C’mon! Go, go, go, go!” He screamed, opening the hatch to the bunker under his house. Lucy crawled inside as Doug locked the hatch behind them. Lucy’s phone rang then and she picked it up immediately.

“Mom!?”

“Lucy! Oh my God, Lucy, baby, I’m so sorry! I’m so so sorry, my darling!” Her mom shouted with tears in her eyes.

“Katie!? Hey Katie, I got her! She’s safe!”

“Doug?! Holy shit Doug, thank you! Thank you so much, Doug! Lucy, I just want you to know that I love you, ok? You have to listen to everything your Uncle Doug says! He’s been preparing for this! I love you so so much, my darling girl! Never forget i-” There was a loud boom as the entire room shook and the phone cut off. 

“Mom? MOM!! MOMMY!?!?!?” Lucy screamed into the phone but Doug knocked it from her hand. He then took her into his arms as she started crying. She practically screamed into his chest as the entire world trembled around them. Everyone she had ever known was dead. Her mother was dead, her school friends were dead, her bullies were dead.

_ Michael was dead…  _


	12. Lanterns Down

Lucy couldn’t stop crying for nearly an hour and a half. Her Uncle Doug just held her and let her let it out, lovingly stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down.

“I’m so sorry, Lucy…” He whispered and Lucy said nothing. She only pulled herself closer, digging her hands into his tacky camouflage jacket. Doug finally released her only when the power to the bunker went out and he had to go turn on the generator. This gave Lucy the opportunity to explore the place. It was rather spacious for an underground fallout shelter. Her mother had told her he’d pretty much turned against the government after 9/11, so this kind of work wasn’t that surprising. There were seven rooms in total; three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a kitchen that was also a living space. There wasn’t a tv anywhere in the bunker nor were there any computers of any sort, as her uncle wanted to keep them cut off from the government. The rooms were fully furnished and the bathrooms were fully function, which rather impressed her. Luckily for Lucy, she had managed to grab two sketchbooks from her house before they left; one blank one and the sketchbook full of Michael drawings. She knew she’d never have another soulmate, so she’d love to have whatever remnants of him that she could… Even if those remnants were just faceless sketches.

“Lucy?” Doug called out, walking in on her looking at a picture she held tightly in her hands; a picture of a little blonde boy and an older woman, “Who’s that?” His question made her shove the picture back into her jacket before turning around.

“It’s nobody… An old friend… He’s long dead now.” She whispered sadly, “What do you need, Uncle Doug?”

“Oh, I just wanted to tell you the rules. Rule number one, never leave the bunker under any circumstances. There’s miles upon miles of radioactive fallout out there. You wouldn’t survive one second outside this shelter. Rule number two, food and water are to be highly rationed. No unauthorized snacking. Rule number three, you can stay up as late as you want, you’re free to do whatever you want, as long as it’s inside the bunker. If you want to talk to me, don’t hesitate to knock on my door, ok?” Doug approached her and held her tightly, “Even though you never really heard from me much, I knew this day was coming, and I always prepared for you and your mother to stay here with me. I love you, Lucy, and I am so sorry our first meeting had to be like this…” Lucy let out a sigh and hugged him back, pressing her face firmly against his chest.

“Thanks for saving me, Uncle Doug. You don’t know how much I appreciate this…” Doug just nodded and kissed her forehead before leaving. Lucy closed the door to her room behind him and taking a deep breath. There were a few moments of silence before Lucy burst into tears once again. She collapsed on her bed and sobbed into her pillow. She thought she knew her future after high school fairly well. She thought she was going to go to college for art and become a world famous artist. She’d marry Michael and they’d have three kids together and they’d live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, she never once thought the world would end in fire and blood…

* * *

Time seemed to go by fast in the bunker with her uncle. It was only a few days into the end of the world when Doug got his vintage radio working and began sending out morse code to any potential survivors. Sadly, they never got any responses. To entertain herself, Lucy started drawing her dreams. Even though her dreams were no longer shared with Michael, that didn’t stop her mind from dreaming of him. She frequently had wet dreams of Michael touching her, his blurred face eating her out for hours on end. Often times she would dream of their wedding that would never happen. She even designed her own wedding dress for it. The idea of a life she would never have made her smile. All she could do in this underground bunker was to make the best of her situation. Luckily for Lucy, her Uncle Doug had thought to stock up on pads and tampons so she never went unprotected during her periods. Her uncle turned out to be a surprisingly kind and caring man for someone who didn’t trust anyone. He also surprised her by telling her stories of their family history that she never knew. Apparently her great great grandmother Lucinda was descended from a long line of people born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts. Her great great grandmother Lucinda was the first person to break from family tradition and move from Salem to New Orleans, Louisiana. That’s where Lucy’s mother and uncle were both born. Her mother moved from Louisiana to California as an attempt to chase after Lucy’s father. Doug spoke about Lucy’s father with the utmost disdain.

“Your daddy was the most ignorant, abusive man I’ve ever met. I tried to stop Katie from going after him. I begged her to stay with me in New Orleans, but she refused. She claimed she loved the bastard, and not a year after she left for Long Beach, you were born. And then, not two years after that, your daddy skipped out on your momma. I was so mad about it that I packed up all my shit and your grandmother as well, cuz I was taking care of her, and moved to Long Beach to be closer to y’all.” Doug explained, rocking back and forth in his rocking chair, “Your momma said I was insane for building this bunker. But look at who’s insane now, Katie! HA!!” He shouted at the ceiling and Lucy laughed.

“She always said you got super paranoid after 9/11. She used to say that you would fuck that stuffed raccoon of yours because you couldn’t get a woman to fuck you.” Lucy said and Doug scoffed.

“What, Electra?! Nah, I would never! Just because I like dressin’ her up in silly outfits every so often doesn’t mean I’m fucking her! Besides, that hole was sewn shut when she was stuffed.” Doug smirked, sipping on the coffee in his hand, his beard trapping some of the hot liquid.

“Uncle Doug… Do you think we’ll ever get out of here?” Lucy asked with sad eyes and Doug sighed.

“Well… I’ve got enough food and fresh water in here to last us 20 years, so we don’t have to go anywhere for a very long time.” He smiled, patting her on the knee to comfort her.

20 years… That was a long time without other human contact, Lucy thought to herself. However, she only had to wait about a year before she finally ran into someone new.

Lucy was passed out asleep when she heard a loud banging from above. She jolted awake at the noise, her Uncle Doug’s angry voice echoing from behind the door.

“ **IF Y’ALL RADIOACTIVE CANNIBALS THINK YOU’RE GETTIN’ IN HERE, YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMIN’!!”** He screamed as Lucy peaked out into the living room. Doug was standing at the base of the stairs with a shotgun, fear in his eyes when the locked hatch above them was suddenly forced open. Lucy screamed and slammed her door shut as she was certain she was going to die. This was how she was going to die and she was not ready for it.  She heard muffled shouts and curses from outside the door before the sound of gunshots made her blood run cold. She heard a body fall to the ground and she instantly knew it was her uncle… Now she had no family left in the world…

“God, please, let them kill me quickly.” Lucy prayed as the door opened in front of her. When a person in a full body radiation suit pointed a gun at her, she dropped to her knees and raised her hands in the air, “PLEASE, I DON’T WANNA DIE!” She screamed, her hair blocking her view of the person completely.

“Hey chief, the storeroom is locked! It’s got a bulletproof door with a keypad!” One man shouted and Lucy’s attacker slowly approached her.

“Do you know the password?” He asked and Lucy nodded furiously.

“Yes! Yes I do! I’ll give it to you if you take me with you! My uncle said there’s at least 20 years of food, water, and other supplies in there. If you take me with you, I’ll let you have it. You killed the last member of my family left alive, I have no one left… I’m begging you.” Lucy’s voice trembled as the man in front of her remained silent in thought.

“Fine… just open the damn door.” He said and Lucy slowly got to her feet, walking past her uncle’s bloody body in tears, before opening the door to the store room. The man who held her at gunpoint then gave her a radiation suit, telling her to put it on. She obeyed, but not before snagging her sketchbooks and her picture of Michael, hiding them inside the suit. She helped the five men that raided the bunker load all the supplies onto a large horse driven carriage before they forced her inside.

“Where are we taking her?” One man asked.

“Outpost 3.” The leader replied, “They’ve been asking for more Greys as they’ve just lost three more.” He said and Lucy had no idea what they were talking about. All she knew was that the drive was long and hard, their entire surroundings resembling the video game Silent Hill. They passed thousands of dead bodies and numerous more suffering people who were still alive but mutated due to the radiation. Lucy had to prevent herself from crying since it would fog up the eyeholes in her suit and she knew she wanted to see the sheer destruction the bombs had caused.

When they finally reached Outpost 3, the suitsloaded her and a few crates off the carriage, showing their IDs to another pair of people in radiation suits. The smaller of the two took her by the hand and led her into the outpost and down an elevator. Once her suit had been sprayed and she peeled it off, Lucy clung tightly to the sketchbooks she had hidden away. She was escorted by a small, older woman with dark hair into a large office lit entirely by a roaring fire. She was surprised by how expansive the office was but she was even more surprised by the woman standing before her. Her hair was styled in an odd bun and she had a cane at her side.

“I am Ms. Venable. Welcome to Outpost 3, one of many nuclear shelters around the world designed to keep humanity alive. From what I was told, you are going to be a Grey. Greys are the servants around here. You will clean the Outpost, feed the Purples, and serve their every need. You will do so silently and without argument. Do you understand, Lucinda?”

“Lucy… My name is Lucy. No one calls me Lucinda…. Not anymore.” She said sadly but Venable said nothing. She simply rang a bell and the short, portly older woman returned to the room.

“Ms. Mead will show you to your dormitory. You will be sharing your quarters with all the other Greys. They will show you what to do.” Lucy stared at the strange woman but said nothing, still trying to figure out what this was all about. She followed Ms. Mead out of Venable’s office and down the stairs, noticing other men and women working as servants and she assumed they were other Greys. Ms. Mead turned a corner and entered a large room lined with beds, almost like a vintage hospital. 

“All the Greys share a room. Your uniform is in the trunk at the foot of your bed. Your bathroom and shower is at the far end of the room. You will eat after you’ve finished serving the Purples their meals.” Ms. Mead explained, pointing at a young woman with the strangest hair and thick rimmed glasses, “Mallory will show you the ropes.” Ms. Mead then left her alone with Mallory and a few other Greys in the room.

“Great… another person I gotta train. Lucky me.” Mallory muttered and Lucy sighed.

“Look, I don’t wanna be here any more than you do. I just wanna survive.” Lucy said and Mallory scoffed.

“If you wanna do that, keep your mouth shut and do as you’re told. We’re given a list of chores every morning that have to be finished by the end of the day. We also give the Purples, otherwise known as the assholes with better treatment, their meals. Be prepared for the food to suck since it’s literally just a cube of nutrients. It’s disgusting but it’s what we’ve got.” Mallory pulled Lucy’s uniform from her trunk and tossed it to her, “Put this on. You’ll also need to put your hair up somehow. That Merida look you’re sporting won’t fly here since you’re a Grey.” Lucy turned and looked in the small mirror on her bedside table. Her hair had certainly gotten puffier from the radiation suit and she couldn’t help but cringe internally at the nickname of Merida. Ever since Brave came out, that was what her bullies kept calling her.

“I’m Lucy, by the way. Thanks for helping me out.” She said with a smile, offering her hand to the girl.

“Mallory. I wish we could’ve met under better circumstances.” Mallory shook her hand before putting on an apron and leaving the room.

Lucy quickly put on the uniform and she was rather pleased that the dress covered up all her freckles. The high collar and the long sleeves of the rather ugly dress kept her unsightly marks hidden away from those who would pick on her. She managed to find a scrap of grey cloth at the bottom of her trunk that she used to put her hair up. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself because she felt remarkably like a Russian babushka with her hair up in that moment. Once she had gotten properly dressed and settled in, she made her way to the task board where the chores were listed. Most of them were rather simple tasks like cleaning the floor and making beds, but some of them were more obscure like checking the closets for contraband and making sure the library books were in order. Despite her confusion, Lucy decided to go to the library to familiarize herself with everything. Since the compound was so massive, she ended up getting lost on the way there and needed instructions from another Grey who informed her that life as a Grey was terrible… That they had become slaves for the year they’d been there. Lucy tried not to let his words affect her as she finally made her way to the library. Her mismatched eyes went wide in awe at the sheer size of the library. There were well over a thousand books lining the walls, everything from textbooks to comic books to the classics. It seemed to her that whomever owned the Outpost wanted to preserve the culture of humanity.

“Hey look, a new one.” A voice spoke up and Lucy turned around, spotting a bleach blonde man sitting on a couch with a glass of water in his hand. Next to him was a blonde woman with the biggest case of resting bitch face Lucy had ever seen, “You. C’mere!” The man pointed at her and Lucy complied, approaching him, “What’s your name and what landfill did they pull you out of? You’re not radioactive are you?”

“My name is Lucy and no, I’m not radioactive. They didn’t get me from a landfill, either. I’m from Long Beach.”

“Long Beach is certainly a landfill by now, sweetheart. Nice to meet you though, Lucy. Call me Gallant. And this,” He motioned to the woman in purple beside him, “Is Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt.” 

“Nice to meet you both. I hope to get to know you as long as we’re here.” Lucy offered a smile and Coco scoffed.

“Oh please. You’re in here with these people long enough and you’ll want to claw their eyes out. I mean, Gallant was my hairdresser before this whole shitshow went down and now that I’ve been in close quarters with him for over a year, I wouldn’t mind slitting his throat.” Coco replied, causing Gallant to give her a horrified look, “What?! I’d never actually do it!” Coco quickly defended herself and Lucy had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“Well it was lovely meeting you two. I should probably get to work.” Lucy nodded before pushing past them to get to the large stack of books behind them.

* * *

Her days in Outpost 3 seemed to go by even faster than when she was in her Uncle Doug’s bunker. Now she actually had things to keep her mind occupied. Granted, they were menial and degrading tasks, but they kept her mind off the situation.

_ And off of Michael… _

Lucy and Mallory became fast friends, both of them bonding over their mutual bitching about the bullies that hurt them in the past. Lucy could tell there was more to Mallory than she was letting on, but she didn’t push it. One week in the Outpost turned into three weeks. Three weeks turned into two months. Two months turned into six months in the Outpost with no significant changes. Lucy just followed Mallory’s advice and kept her mouth shut, doing as she was told without complaint. Even though she didn’t talk much, Gallant and Coco still managed to find ways to degrade her. Lucy had assumed that her bullying troubles had ended with the end of the world, but those two self centered pricks proved her wrong.

One day, she was in the middle of cleaning up the dining room when the alarms started blaring. Lucy was confused, as she knew nothing could get past the perimeter, but she ignored it for the moment. After all she’d been through in six months, she was already so dead inside that she’d be glad to be torn apart by murderous cannibals.

She was pleasantly surprised, however, when the alarm turned out to be someone from the Cooperative. Ms. Venable called everyone to the library as the man was going to speak with them. Lucy stood next to the door beside the one Mallory was posted at, staring at the floor until she heard the sounds of thick boots echoing down the hall. She looked up and a chill ran down her spine the moment she laid eyes upon the man. He was  _ beyond  _ gorgeous. His hair was long and strawberry blonde with cheekbones and a jawline that could cut glass. He wore red eyeshadow and a well tailored suit that fit him like a glove. Lucy felt her mouth immediately grow dry upon gazing at him. His eyes were such a piercing blue that she swore he had an entire ocean in them. Her whole body was practically vibrating from just looking at him.

She hadn’t felt this way since the last time she saw Michael. In fact, Michael was the only person who’d ever made her feel the way she was feeling in that moment.

“My name is Langdon and I represent the Cooperative.” The man spoke and his deep voice nearly brought Lucy to tears at how beautiful he was.


	13. But I Don't Wanna Go To Sleep

“I won’t sugarcoat the situation. Humanity is on the brink of failure. My arrival here was crucial to the survival of civilized life on Earth.” Langdon mused, “The three other compounds in Syracuse, New York, Beckley, West Virginia, and San Angelo, Texas have been overrun and destroyed. We’ve had no contact from the six international outposts, but we are assuming that they too have been eliminated.” Langdon explained. Lucy, normally, would’ve been more shocked and horrified if it weren’t for the fact that she was completely and utterly hypnotized by this man. He was so ethereally beautiful, she almost couldn’t stand it.

“What happened to the people inside?” Someone asked.

“Massacred.” Langdon replied bluntly, “The same fate that will befall almost all of you.”

“Almost all?” Mallory spoke up and her words nearly broke Lucy out of her haze, but not completely.

“In the knowledge that this very moment might occur, we built a failsafe: The Sanctuary.” He sounded like he genuinely wanted to help but Lucy could also sense there was something else going on.

“The Sanctuary?” Someone else asked curiously.

“The Sanctuary is unique. It has certain security measures that will prevent overrun.”

“Excuse me, sir?” Ms. Mead interrupted, “What measures? Why weren’t we given them?”

“That’s classified.” Langdon replied snarkily, “All that matters is that The Sanctuary will survive, so the people populating it will survive, so humanity will survive.”

“Who are the people who are populating it?” Another voice chimed in.

“Also classified.” Langdon said with a smirk, “However, I have been sent to determine if any of you are worthy and fit to join us. The Cooperative has developed a particular and rigorous questioning technique we like to call ‘Cooperating’. I will then use the information gained to determine if you belong.” Langdon then glanced over at Lucy for a moment, their eyes meeting. It was like time stood still when they met each others gazes. Lucy felt her heart nearly stop under his powerful blue eyes, his gorgeous face almost unreadable as he looked her up and down.

“What is this, The Hunger Games? This is bullshit!” Coco scoffed, “I paid my way in here and that’s the only cooperating I plan on doing!”

“You don’t have to sit for questioning.” Langdon remarked harshly.

“What happens if we choose not to?” A young voice asked.

“Then you’ll die.” Langdon’s answers were short and to the point, as if he was prepared for these questions.

“I volunteer to go first!” Gallant piped up and Lucy felt anger building in her belly at the thought of Gallant being alone with Langdon.

“And so you shall,” Langdon replied, “The process should only take me a couple of days, so you won’t be kept in suspense forever. For those of you who don’t make the cut, all is not lost.” Langdon then pulled a small bottle from his pocket, holding it for everyone to see, “If the worst should happen and feral cannibals come knocking, down one of these. One minute later, you fall asleep and never wake up.” His words were like poetry to Lucy’s ears and she never wanted him to stop talking, “I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.” Langdon’s gaze then met Lucy’s once more before he calmly left the room. Lucy let out a shaky breath the moment he left. Everyone else started talking amongst themselves but Lucy couldn’t bring herself to speak. It was like Langdon had sucked all the air out of the room. She quickly excused herself and went back to her dorm, sitting on her bed as she struggled to come to terms with what she was feeling.

Michael was the only person who’d ever made her feel aroused. Sure, she’d had crushes before and after Michael, but none of them left her wanting and needy like Michael did. Langdon, however, changed all that. Lucy felt every cell in her body screaming out for him. She wanted him to plow her into the floor so hard she wouldn’t be able to walk. She was having all these lustful thoughts while at the same time feeling incredibly guilty about it. Michael was her soulmate. The universe gave them their time for a reason. Her sexual fantasies for Langdon made her feel as if she was betraying Michael somehow. She had given Michael all of herself. She gave him her heart, her body, her soul, and everything else she could ever give. And now, here was another man rekindling the fire inside her that Michael had first set ablaze within her.

A voice in the back of her mind then reminded her that Michael was dead. When the bombs went off, he was right in the blast zone. He would’ve died within seconds and there was nothing she could’ve done about it. So if she had desires and dirty urges for a new man, there was nothing to feel bad about since Michael was long dead.

Or at least, that’s what Lucy believed anyway…

* * *

Michael paced back and forth in his room, his hands buried in his long hair in thought. She had  _ her  _ eyes. The Grey that he’d exchanged glances with had his precious Lucinda’s mismatched eyes. Lucy had once told him that she had heterochromia, that her right eye was blue and her left eye was green. This Grey with her hair all wrapped up and a high collared dress shared those very same eyes. She also had a spattering of freckles on her cheeks. Even though he’d never been able to see her face due to the blur, Michael assumed she had freckles on her face since she had them everywhere else… Even on her perfect pussy, she had two little cafe au lait freckles on her lower lips. But Michael reminded himself that it couldn’t have been her. Cordelia had killed her along with Ms. Mead. Despite never seeing her body in person, he knew she was gone. The universe had ended their dream sharing sessions and the ritual he performed to see her again showed her burning alive. His perfect Lucy was dead and gone, buried six feet under the nuclear wasteland he had caused.

But if she was dead, why did this Grey call out to him the same way Lucy had?

* * *

That night, for the first time in a while, Lucy dreamed of Michael. She opened her eyes in the dream, the sight of a luscious bedroom before her. She was confused at first until she felt a pair of firm hands on her shoulders. She smiled and turned around, her blood running cold when she realized it wasn’t Michael.

It was  _ Langdon. _

The tall blonde stood before her completely naked, his long hair framing his face like a golden veil. Langdon then put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him. At first, Lucy was hesitant, but then she met his eyes. The moment their eyes met, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning up and kissing him. He was so much taller than she was, but she didn’t care. He pulled her flush against him and suddenly, her clothes vanished, leaving her just as naked as he was. He kissed her deeper, pushing her back towards the bed. The moment her knees hit the bed, she fell backwards, letting out a moan when he crawled overtop of her. He started kissing down her neck, his large hands squeezing her breasts as he kept her pinned to the bed. Soon Langdon was between her legs, biting the insides of her thighs and making her squeal.

“You’re mine, Lucy… You’re fucking  _ mine!”  _ Langdon growled, moving his mouth to her soaking wetness. The second his mouth was upon her, Lucy screamed, arching her back. Her hands fled to his long hair and dug in, getting a good grip as she pulled on it hard. He stuck two fingers into her, his tongue circling her clit as he started moving his hand against her. Lucy was moaning loudly and wildly, her legs thrown over Langdon’s shoulders as she was overcome with pleasure. He curled his fingers and pressed directly against a soft spongy spot inside her that drove her crazy.

“Oh Langdon! Langdon please!” Lucy begged, her entire body shaking as he was bringing her to orgasm rather quickly. He increased his pace, working her with both his mouth and his fingers. Lucy could see him grinding his hips into the red silk sheets and it further spurred her on. 

“Cum for me, my love. Cum for me!” Langdon demanded as he stuck a third finger inside her. He curled his fingers, nailing her G-Spot twice more before Lucy erupted around him.

The second she orgasmed in her dream, her eyes snapped open in the real world. Her nightgown felt entirely too tight as she felt herself right on the edge of orgasm. Lucy couldn’t stop herself then from burying her own fingers inside herself, stroking her clit and moaning loudly as she finally came.

“Fuck, LANGDON!!” She cried out, trying to be as quiet as possible as her orgasm tore her apart. Unfortunately, guilt and regret flooded her as she came down from her high. She’d just had a sex dream about someone other than Michael and it was fucking fantastic…

Suddenly, her moral dilemma was cut short when she was smacked right in the face with a pillow.

“Look, if you’re gonna masturbate to Langdon, you need to go find Gallant for a circle jerk or shut the fuck up! Some of us are trying to sleep!” Mallory hissed, having heard the entirety of Lucy’s sex dream. Lucy felt so embarrassed, rolling over onto her side in an attempt to hide her shame. Even though she’d just experienced the best orgasm she’d had in months, Lucy felt even more guilty despite knowing Michael was dead. She just hoped he wasn’t judging her from heaven.


	14. In All My Dreams I Drown

The next day was rather boring, even though Lucy was receiving so many judgemental looks from the other Greys. All of them knew she orgasmed at the thought of Langdon but Lucy tried her best to ignore it. She just swept the floor and cleaned the handrails as she was told. She was doing just as instructed until she felt a heavy presence standing behind her. Lucy turned around only to come face to face with Langdon who was examining her closely.

“You must be new here. I haven’t yet gotten your file from Ms. Venable.” Langdon said to her and Lucy cleared her throat, lowering her gaze to the floor.

“I’ve only been here for six months, sir.” Lucy replied, a blush crossing her face as she tried not to remember her dream from the night before, “I try to make the best of my situation since I no longer have any family left…” Her voice trembled and Langdon smiled gently.

“What’s your name?”

“Lucy, sir. Lucy Ratsch.” Her response made Langdon’s blood run cold.

“Where were you from, Lucy?”

“Long Beach, sir. My uncle built a bomb shelter in his backyard and I stayed there for a year until the Cooperative raided our bunker for supplies. They killed my uncle for his supplies and I begged for my life. They sent me here in response…” She said, “I… um… I really should finish what I was doing, sir.” Lucy clarified and Langdon cocked his head, lifting her chin with his index finger so she could meet his gaze.

“Your eyes are fascinating.” He mused before pulling back, eyeing her up and down, “Have they always been like that?” Lucy swallowed dryly at his question and she nodded.

“Yes sir. It’s called heterochromia. My mother claims I absorbed my twin in the womb or something, that’s where it comes from.” Lucy said, her voice wavering as she immediately looked back to the floor. Langdon’s finger then dragged down her chin to her neck, lightly pulling on the collar of her dress before Lucy pushed him away. Langdon quirked his eyebrow at her response before smirking at her.

“Get back to work, Miss Ratsch. I will see you soon.” He left then without even saying goodbye but Lucy couldn’t care less. Something deep inside her was telling her that Langdon had a secret. There was something about him that she was desperate to know, but she wasn’t able to figure it out. Regardless, she returned to her chores all while her mind was tumbling with thoughts about Michael and Langdon.

Michael, meanwhile, had returned to his room, his heart absolutely racing in his chest. This beautiful young woman, this perfect specimen of womanhood, she was matching up almost perfectly with everything Michael remembered about Lucy. The story about her heterochromia, her name, her feistiness, all of the signs were pointing to this young woman being his Precious Starlight… His Lucinda….

“ _ You know that can’t possibly be her… She’s dead. Cordelia did to her what she did to Ms. Mead. Her soul is hidden from you and you’ll never be able to find her again.”  _ A dark, demonic voice echoed in Michael’s head as the Antichrist tried to dissuade him from searching any further into this Grey’s past. He shook his head, trying to ignore what the Antichrist was saying, but he knew deep down that it made sense. The Antichrist inside him had never led him astray before, so why would it lie to him about this? Michael let out a heavy sigh before walking over to his desk, opening a small drawer and pulling out a little black sketchbook. Inside were all of the drawings he’d done of Lucy since she died. Every one of them were faceless yet still beautiful. He’d even made some sketches for Jeff and Mutt as an attempt to persuade them into building a robotic version of her. 

* * *

“ _ We can’t build an identical copy without a photographic reference.” Jeff protested but Michael pinched the bridge of his nose, locking his jaw. _

_ “I may not have a photograph, but I have my memories, and my memories are 100 percent clear. I just….” Michael’s voice cracked with emotion, “I just need her back…. I’m begging you.” _

_ “There’s no guarantee she’ll be exactly to your liking, you know. Memories can be faulty and since we don’t have a picture-” Mutt was cut off when Michael gave him the harshest of glares. The cokehead simply nodded in fear, glancing over at his partner, “Just, um, give us some sketches and we’ll try our best…” _

_ Michael, however, should’ve listened to the two men as three months later, they were on their fourth iteration of Lucy’s robotic form and Michael still wasn’t happy. _

_ “No, no, NO! How many fucking times do I have to tell you, she had a group of freckles on the back of her left shoulder that looked like a rose!” Michael shouted, staring at the Lucy robot that was lying motionless on the table, “And her hair needs to be curlier… And where the fuck is the set of freckles on the right side of her neck that looks like the constellation Lyra?!”  _

_ “MICHAEL WE CAN’T MAKE EVERYTHING EXACT IF WE DON’T HAVE A GODDAMN PICTURE!!” Jeff screamed at him, “This is the fourth version of her body and the god knows how many-eth version of her face mold because you can’t fucking settle on one! C’mon man, just accept the fact that we can’t make her to your exact damn standards!” Jeff snorted another line of cocaine as Mutt began to pace back and forth.  _

_ “Well… Since you at least agreed on a body mold, how about we just make her a sexual companion? Like, would you be content with her not being perfect if we made her perfect, ya know, downstairs?” Mutt offered and Michael swore he rolled his eyes so hard, he almost saw the back of his skull, “I mean, she’s got a fuckin’ stellar body, dude. You’ve got to be satisfied with that at least?” Michael just groaned loudly at Mutt’s words, shaking his head. _

_ “If you think I want her just for sex, then you have absolutely no idea why I wanted her back. You two are the biggest fucking morons I’ve ever come across.” Michael looked up at the Lucy robot with a sigh, “Scrap it. She’ll never be exact. I don’t want her if she’s not exact.” He then turned and left the room, wiping away the tears that prickled in his eyes. _

* * *

Michael put the sketchbook down, his fingers tracing over the red-orange colored pencil drawings of Lucy’s beautiful curls. He hadn’t realized he was crying until he saw his tears splattering on the cover of the book. He took in a sharp shaky breath, his hands trembling as all his emotions began to bubble to the surface. He looked in the tall mirror beside his desk, catching a glimpse of himself. Michael barely even recognized himself in that moment. He looked nothing like the naive young man Lucy first fell in love with. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, imagining Lucy standing behind him in the mirror.

His moment of quiet contemplation was broken when he heard a knock at the door.

“Come in.” He whispered and soon the portly form of Ms. Mead appeared in his doorway holding a stack of folders.

“I’ve got the files you asked for. All of the Grey’s that have been here for less than a year, correct?” Mead said and Michael nodded.

“Thank you, Ms. Mead. I appreciate it.” Michael took the folders from Ms. Mead’s hand. Once the woman left, he began to hurriedly search through the files in his hands. He scanned the folders, looking for the face that had haunted him for years.

And then he saw it.

Lucinda Ratsch.

Michael grabbed her file and opened it, utterly shocked that this Grey was matching up perfectly with his long dead lover… Or at least, the lover he thought was long dead. The picture of her in her file was of her with her hair pulled back and her grey uniform looking extremely unflattering. She was 21 years old and she was an O- blood type. She was 5’1” with a blue right eye and a green left eye. Her file said she had red hair but Michael had yet to see it. His heart was racing as he was overcome with emotion. Could this be his Lucinda? He didn’t understand how it could’ve been her, and he wasn’t 100 percent sure, but he knew he needed to find out. If his Precious Starlight was alive, he needed to have her in his arms more than anything. If she was in the Outpost with him, he no longer needed to be alone.

* * *

Lucy had a gap in her chores that evening and she chose to spend her free time in the library, her sketchbook splayed out on top of her lap. She was drawing a form she hadn’t drawn in so long: her beautiful Michael. After her wet dream of Langdon and her interaction with him earlier that day, she felt compelled to draw the man who made her a woman in the first place. She slowly began to sketch his blurry features, from his short curly hair on top to his agonizingly long legs and big feet on the bottom. She always drew a crude face first before smudging it out with her thumb since none of the faces she’d tried before on his body ever looked quite right. Lucy let out a heavy sigh as she drew his hands, giving particular detail to his fingernails, when Coco walked up behind her.

“Hey, you’re in my chair! Move it!” Coco said firmly and Lucy reluctantly stood up. She put her sketchbook on the table when she stood up and when she reached for it, Coco snagged it before Lucy could.

“Damn Merida! These aren’t half bad! You know, I might’ve commissioned a drawing from you before the world went to shit… Well, that is if I knew of your existence in the first place.” Coco laughed, flipping through the pages until she came upon the drawing of Michael that Lucy was working on, “Why the hell are you drawing Langdon like that? Were you just imagining what he’d be like as a normal person? I guess I could see him with that short hair, but I don’t get why you smudged out his face.” Coco said as she handed the book back to her. Lucy blinked in confusion at her assumption that she was drawing Langdon.

“That…. That’s not Langdon.” Lucy murmured.

“Well it sure as shit looks like him. Those hands and those legs for days certainly belong to that leather loving daddy upstairs.” Coco’s words made Lucy nearly drop her sketchbook. Now that she thought about it, Langdon’s body type was extremely similar to Michael’s. In fact, it was almost identical. 

“E-excuse me…” Lucy whispered, leaving the library and heading back to her dormitory. She quickly looked through her drawers before she found what she was looking for. The beautiful picture of three year old Michael and his Gramma still looked as pure and full of hope as it did when Lucy first found it. She looked at Michael’s bright blue eyes and thought of Langdon, her stomach dropping when she recognized a similarity. She put the photo in her apron pocket before leaving the room, turning the corner only to be stopped by Langdon in front of everyone in the library.

“Come with me, Miss Ratsch. It’s time for your interview.” 


	15. The Captain Howled, Heave Ho Heave Ho

His voice was smooth and enchanting to Lucy. He was so hypnotizing, he almost made her forget that everyone was staring her down as she was led into his office. Langdon quickly closed the door behind her and sat on top of his desk, crossing his legs as he watched her closely. Lucy stood before him silently, her entire body trembling as what she was thinking couldn’t have possibly have been true. The room was silent for quite a while before Langdon broke the tension.

“You said your name was Lucy, correct? Is that short for anything?” Langdon asked, despite already knowing the answer. Lucy swallowed dryly as she nodded, her shaky hands clasped behind her back.

“I-it’s short for Lucinda, sir. I was named after my great great grandmother.” She whispered. She couldn’t help but notice how his eyes seemed to be a bit shinier than before, as if he was on the verge of tears.

“Lucinda… it’s quite a pretty name. Why don’t you just go by that instead of Lucy?”

“Because I was bullied for most of my life and people would make jokes about how ridiculous my name sounded.” She explained and Langdon gritted his teeth.

“Are you still a virgin?” Langdon asked point blank and Lucy’s eyes went wide, surprised at his question.

“W-w-what does that have to do with anything?” She stammered.

“Just answer the question. Even though my questions may seem odd, trust me, they serve a greater purpose.” He said, causing Lucy to blush wildly.

“Um… yes…. Yes sir, I am. I fell in love quite a while ago, but he died when the bombs went off. We never had the opportunity to have sex before then.” Her voice quivered at the thought of Michael. However, she felt her heart sink when Langdon suddenly had a smile on his face.

“Oh really? The two of you never fucked each others brains out? You two never made love for hours on end only to wake up beside each other in a sweaty, panting mess?” Langdon purred, standing up from his spot on his desk.

“No sir… We um…. We actually never met in person… It’s a complicated story, trust me… You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She felt her pulse increase as Langdon stepped closer, staring her down.

“Take off your dress.” He commanded and Lucy’s eyes widened. Here was this complete stranger, asking her the most personal questions, only to then ask her to get naked for him as if that would help him decide if he would save her or not.

“I… I’d rather not, sir… Please…” She replied meekly and Langdon clenched his jaw.

“If you don’t do this, I can guarantee you will be left here for the cannibals after I leave. You will die slowly and painfully. Is that what you want?” He asked firmly.

“No…” She shook her head, her entire body trembling as she replied.

“Then Take. Off. Your. Dress.” Langdon punctuated his words, “And take your hair down as well. I want to see all of you.” Lucy stood frozen for a moment before reaching back and undoing her zipper. She slowly peeled off her dress, stepping out of the large garment and standing there in just her bra and panties. She then took the scarf off her head and removed the pins that kept her wild hair under control. Her luscious red curls fell over her shoulders as Langdon made quick work of her bra. He undid the clasp and forced her to remove it, glancing down at her panties as he wanted those off as well. Lucy hesitantly complied, covering her breasts and lady parts with her hands.

“Sir…. I don’t understand why this is necessary.” Lucy questioned. However, all of her doubts vanished the second she saw tears staining Langdon’s cheeks. His large hand traveled up her arm as his breath caught in his throat.

“Pegasus…” He breathed, tracing the pattern of freckles on her arm, “Andromeda…” His hand then went further up her shoulder, “Orion…” His thumb grazed her collarbone and the three linear freckles on her skin, “Cassiopeia…” His touch went to her neck, caressing her skin as all the pieces finally came together. Lucy stared at the man in front of her in shock, tears stinging her eyes.

“M-Michael?!” She whispered, her voice shaking as a huge smile crossed his face, another tear trekking down his perfect cheek.

“My Precious Starlight… It’s me…” He replied and Lucy suddenly felt as if she couldn’t breathe. The entire room started to spin as she was overwhelmed with emotion. She collapsed into his arms and he caught her easily, carrying her to the soft loveseat and lying her down. Her eyes fluttered open only moments later and she stared up at the man she thought was long dead.

And she could  _ finally  _ see his beautiful face.

She said nothing for a long while before her hand slowly reached up and caressed his cheek, her fingers trembling slightly as they danced across his skin. He remained silent as well, a massive smile nearly splitting his face in two as he allowed her to examine his face. He did the same thing to her, his hand delicately feeling every curve of her skin.

“Michael…” Lucy choked out, ignoring the face that she was completely naked underneath him, “You’re alive… How are you alive?!” She stammered before sobbing into his chest, surging forward and burying herself against him. Michael held her close, sobbing just as hard as she was. His shaky hand lovingly petted her hair as she just cried against him for at least two minutes before pulling away.

“It’s complicated, my darling. How I ended up here is probably just as complicated your explanation as to how you survived! I thought Cordelia killed you!” He explained and Lucy shook her head, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.

“No! I don’t even know a woman named Cordelia. I mean, I’ve heard of the famous witch, Cordelia Goode, but I’ve never met her.” Lucy told him as her hands rubbed his arms. Michael went silent then as he realized he’d been lied to. The White Faced Demon he allowed to take over his body to destroy the world had lied right to his face.

“I thought you were done with me…” Lucy whispered then, slowly pulling away from him and leaving Michael confused, “The letter you left in our dream world. You told me goodbye… I wonder now if this was why.” Her voice cracked as she turned away from him. Michael just locked his jaw, knowing the letter was the Antichrist’s doing as well. The demon inside him had intentionally separated them so Michael would have a reason to destroy the world.

“Lucy… Lucinda… My Precious Starlight… I never stopped loving you. Not for one millisecond did you leave my heart. And now that I can finally see your beautiful face, you won’t ever leave my mind.” Michael then leaned forward, claiming her mouth with his. Lucy immediately kissed back, sobbing into his mouth with all the pent up emotion she’d harbored for him over the years. Her hand tangled into his long hair as she pulled him closer, now finally realizing just how naked she was against him.

“I never stopped loving you either. I took you with me wherever I went, desperately hoping you’d return to me… My beautiful Michael…” She kissed him again, rolling her hips up against him. He let out a groan when he felt her warmth between her legs, realizing as well just how desperately he needed her. His cock was already semi hard and the more she kissed him, the thicker and longer it became. Soon it was pressing insistently at the front of his pants and Lucy smiled as she felt it throbbing against her.

“Go over to that rug by the fireplace and lie on your back.” Michael commanded and Lucy happily obliged, peeling herself from his arms for only a moment as she walked over to the large fluffy rug Michael directed her to. She slowly lied down on her back, her mismatched eyes watching him as he stalked towards her like an animal hunting its prey. He kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt, causing Lucy to gasp as she remembered that beautiful chest. She remembered his chiseled muscles and the little freckle he had on his left side. She remembered it all. Michael then got to his knees in front of her, kissing her again as his hand slowly trailed down her body. His fingers pushed inside her tight wetness without any warning, causing Lucy to moan in surprise and grip his shoulders tightly. He loomed over her as he worshipped her body, his thumb rubbing her clit and his fingers curling deep inside her. 

“Michael, oh Michael, I love you!” Lucy cried out, whining a bit as he removed his hand. However, she wasn’t left wanting for long as Michael quickly replaced his hand with his mouth. This change made Lucy scream so loudly, she hoped the office was sound proofed. Both of her hands gripped his hair, pulling his face harder against where she needed him most. He kept sucking on the sensitive pearl between her legs as his tongue entered her, licking as deep inside her as it could reach. Her thighs were shaking as her orgasm built, tears streaming down her cheeks from all the love she felt for him in that moment.

“Oh fuck, Michael!” She screamed as her orgasm took her by surprise, her juices thoroughly coating Michael’s mouth and chin. He only stopped once she started whimpering from oversensitivity. He then finally removed his pants, unbuckling his belt and peeling them off completely.

“Lucinda… My beautiful, perfect Lucinda…” Michael breathed as he looked into her eyes, stroking himself in one hand and pushing her hair out of her eyes with the other, “I’m so sorry I left you all those times. You never deserved that pain.” He kissed her again and Lucy could taste herself on his tongue. She then wrapped a leg around his waist and took his cock in her hand, lining him up with her opening.

“Be one with me, Michael. After all this time, please, make love to me for  _ real.  _ My soulmate, I’m begging you… Make love to me.” Her voice cracked and Michael couldn’t stop his own tears from falling as he kissed her and pushed inside her in one motion. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and arched her back, her jaw dropping open at the strange new sensation. It was nothing like how they’d done it in their dream world. Michael, on the other hand, had to force himself to go slowly. She was a virgin, that much he knew given the insane tightness around him as well as the fact that she’d just told him herself. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he finally pushed all the way in, bottoming out as his heavy balls hit her ass. Both of them froze, panting heavily as they struggled for air. Michael began kissing up her neck, sucking angry hickies onto her pale skin as Lucy adjusted to the massive throbbing size inside her. 

“Move baby, please!!” Lucy begged, intentionally clenching down around him. Michael growled in response, pulling out almost all the way before shoving himself back inside. Lucy cried out from the sensation, throwing her head back against the fluffy rug. Michael pulled back and looked down at her with teary eyes, admiring how the firelight made her look even more like a star. He couldn’t stop crying as he made slow yet passionate love to her. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, his long hair almost like a veil around their faces.

“Please don’t leave me,  _ please!!!”  _ He sobbed, one hand moving to grab her hip as he started moving faster. Lucy opened her eyes and looked up at the beautiful man above her. The sight made her sob as well as she watched his eyebrows knit together in pleasure and sadness.

“Never… I’ll never leave you again, I promise!” She kissed him again, their tears mingling as both of them felt their orgasms building deep within them. Lucy’s nails dug into Michael’s back muscles as he fucked her deeper, the swollen head of his cock bumping the mouth of her womb.

“Never! Never leave me! Never, never never!” He sobbed, his thrusts becoming sloppy and uneven as his orgasm kept getting hotter and tighter in his belly.

“Michael!” Lucy screamed his name as his pelvis grazed her clit on an upstroke, her orgasm ripping through her. She dug her nails so hard into his back, she unintentionally drew blood. Her  body tightened rhythmically around him, clenching and unclenching against her will. She had been so caught up in her own release that she almost missed Michael’s.

“FUCK!!” Michael growled out, pressing his face into Lucy’s neck as he buried himself as deep into her as he could. His orgasm crashed over him as he stilled, his cock throbbing wildly as he planted his seed. Hot jets of cum burst forth from his cock, leaving him trembling as he erupted inside her. He had been rather backed up as it had been quite a while since he last had sex with someone. Because of this, his orgasm lasted longer than normal, his cock squirting out even more cum until he finally relaxed. The only sounds to be heard were the sounds of their heavy breathing and the sound of the crackling fire beside them. Michael was still crying as he kissed her neck and nibbled on her earlobe, sniffling quietly as Lucy stroked his long hair. She was slightly calmer than he was, but tears still stained her cheeks. 

They were  _ finally  _ one after all this time...


	16. And Tied Me Up With Sheets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BE WARNED Y'ALL, THIS CHAPTER HAS MENTIONS OF SELF HARM AND DEPRESSION. IT'S NOTHING REALLY GRAPHIC, BUT IT'S STILL THERE. IF Y'ALL ARE SQUICKED OR TRIGGERED BY THAT, PLEASE SKIP THIS CHAPTER!!

It was a good five minutes before Michael pulled himself out of her with a hiss, rolling onto his side to look at her. The way her breasts were silhouetted by the fire made him never want to stop touching her. Her entire body was perfect in his eyes, from the scars on the tops of her thighs to the cute freckles that marked her face.

_ Wait… scars? _

This was the first time that Michael had seen the numerous scars that littered the skin of her beautiful thighs. In the dream world, Lucy never even gave them any thought, so they never appeared under the sundress she always wore. Michael slowly reached out, his hand caressing her thigh and his thumb rubbing over the faded scars. Some of them were raised, but most of them weren’t. Lucy immediately felt uncomfortable as he touched them. She hated that dark part of her past since her scars were a constant reminder of the depression and weakness she felt as a teenager. She gently took Michael’s hand in hers and moved it away from her thigh, biting her lip so she wouldn’t start crying again.

“Please… don’t…” She warned and Michael nodded, understanding that no matter how she got the scars, the memory was still very painful for her. He scooted a bit closer and took her chin in his hand, making her look at him.

“I love you, Lucinda. I love every single part of you. From your darkest day to the brightest hour of your life, I will always love you. Nothing you could do or say would ever scare me away.” He purred, wiping the tear stains off her freckled cheeks, “You’re my Precious Starlight… My Lucinda… I wouldn’t be the man I am today without you.” His words were genuine and honest and it made Lucy give a sad laugh.

“Then why did you leave me? What evil compelled you to leave me in order to protect me? I don’t think I had ever known true pain until you left me alone.” She breathed and Michael let out a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry… My Precious Starlight, I had no choice. The first time was agony. I had done things, unforgivable things, and I didn’t want you to hate me like everyone else did.” He finally admitted, “The second time wasn’t my decision. That evil I told you about tricked me into believing you were dead. Had I known you were still alive, I would’ve come for you.” He explained, his voice quivering from his fear of rejection. Lucy said nothing. She just smiled in response and rolled over to face him, pushing his beautiful blonde hair out of his face.

“I just can’t believe you’re actually here and alive. The bomb went off in LA, right over your house… OH! And that reminds me!” Lucy crawled over to where her dress was crumpled on the ground. Digging through her apron, she pulled out the small picture she was looking for, “When I went to your house, your Gramma’s ghost led me to this.” She showed him the picture of him as a child in his Gramma’s arms. He smiled and laughed at the photo.

“I’m amazed you still have this after all this time.” He mused.

“Well it was the only physical evidence I ever had of your existence. I knew I had to save it when my Uncle came to save me.” She gave a shrug and Michael sighed, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. Lucy crawled overtop of him, kissing him deeply as she started drawing lazy circles on his chest with her finger, “You know, every time I tried to draw you from memory, I always tried to draw what I thought your face looked like. They never looked right, though. I certainly didn’t expect you to be this beautiful… Nor did I expect you to grow your hair out like this. I love it, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t think you were the kind of guy who’d grow his hair long.” Lucy mused and Michael chuckled, glancing down at her head on his chest.

“I just decided that a drastic change like that would be fun.” Michael shrugged, “I’ve always adored your long hair, so I thought it might look good on me too.” He smirked and she rolled her eyes, placing loving kisses on his chest and stomach.

“I love you… so much…” Lucy breathed, slowly sitting up and straddling him, his flaccid cock settling between her lower lips. It didn’t stay flaccid for long as she claimed his mouth in a loving kiss, her curly red locks spilling over her shoulders like a fiery waterfall. She began lazily rolling her hips, a mixture of both their fluids seeping out of her and onto his now hard cock.

“You’re a queen, Lucinda. You’re a fucking Goddess.” Michael whimpered between kisses, his hands going to her ass to get a good grip on it. He moved his mouth to her chest, sitting up enough to suckle at her petite breasts. As she was tiny to begin with, her breasts were on the small side as well, but Michael didn’t care. He started nipping and sucking at her freckled skin, smirking to himself when she started moaning in response. Lucy slowly took his cock in her hand before lining him up and sinking onto him once again. Both of them moaned loudly, the sensations almost too intense yet not enough at the same time. Her head lolled forward as she began riding him, her palms flat on his chest as she really started giving it to him. Michael stared in awe at her breasts as they bounced, gritting his teeth as he tried to restrain himself. She was so utterly sexy as she moved atop him that it was nearly hypnotizing. He gripped her hips harder, his fingernails digging into her skin so hard that he nearly drew blood.

“Michael, please!” Lucy whimpered, struggling to get where she wanted to be in the position they were currently in. Michael understood almost immediately, quickly flipping them over and pinning Lucy to the floor.

“You can’t cum with me beneath you, can you? You want me to take control… to make it hurt like all the years you hurt when I was gone.” He purred, practically reading her thoughts as he pushed deep into her once more. Lucy cried out in ecstasy, gasping loudly when Michael lifted her leg and pressed her knee to her chest, “You want it hard. You want me to push your body to its fucking limits and once I say you’re allowed to cum, only then can you have the best orgasm of your life!” Michael kept talking as he thrusted, his entire body consumed with the need to fuck.

“Yes Michael! Yes please, oh fuck yes!” Lucy screamed, reaching up and pulling Michael in for a kiss while her other hand started tweaking her clit. Unfortunately, Michael didn’t like it when she touched herself and he slowed down the pace of his thrusts, moving her hand away from her sensitive pearl.

“Michael NO! Please, oh fuck Michael, I’m so close! Baby please let me cum! Please let me cum!!” She begged, squirming beneath him and he met her beautiful mismatched eyes with a loving gaze. He pulled out slowly before slamming back into her once more, causing her to whine.

“I can feel how badly your body craves me. I can sense the way it screams for me to just fuck you until you can’t fucking BREATHE!” He slammed into her again, “You’re so goddamn tight, shit! You’re fucking milking my cock with every little clenching pull and you fucking love it!!!” He hissed as he picked up the pace and Lucy started whining even louder.

“PLEASE!!! Please, please, please, please, PLEASE BABY I NEED TO CUM!! MICHAEL I’M GONNA CUM! OH FUCK! Lucy screamed in pleasure as her body seized with the force of her orgasm. Her back arched and her walls massaged Michael’s cock with every pleasurable contraction of her womb. Michael could only grunt in response, letting out a long and loud moan as he came as well. The slit of his cock was pressed directly against her cervix as he orgasmed, hard jets of thick cum spraying inside of her and mixing with the seed he’d already planted there. He kept throbbing and pulsing inside her until he was completely sated, almost completely collapsing on top of her. Both of them were panting so hard, it was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Lucy unintentionally squeezed around him once more, earning a lustful groan out of him before he slowly pulled out and rolled onto his back. Michael couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, even as more tears streamed down his cheeks.

“I’ve never been this happy before…” He whispered and Lucy reached over, taking his hand in hers.

“Me neither… You know, I was always praying that this day would come. Despite the circumstances, I’m eternally grateful that the universe finally brought us together.” Lucy was completely breathless, staring up at the ceiling before looking over and admiring the way Michael’s hair glowed in the firelight. However, as she looked over, she also noticed the clock on the wall. She was supposed to be taking a 15 minute break before finishing her chores for the night. She  _ had  _ been doing that until Michael stopped her for her interview. They had been making love for so long that Lucy had totally lost track of time, as she now only had 30 minutes to finish an hours worth of chores.

“SHIT!!!” She shouted, stumbling to her feet before cringing as she felt Michael’s semen leaking down her leg. She snagged a towel from the bathroom to clean herself off as she hurriedly got dressed.

“What’s the rush, my darling?” Michael asked with a laugh, sitting up on his elbows and watching her.

“I haven’t finished my chores for today and I’ve only got 30 minutes left to do them. Ms. Mead and Ms. Venable are gonna give me hell if I don’t!” She explained nervously. Michael, however, just laughed loudly and shook his head. He rose to his feet just as Lucy pulled her dress on but was struggling with the zipper. His large hand quickly guided the zipper closed as he leaned in close to kiss the back of her neck.

“You need not fear Ms. Venable nor Ms. Mead. Neither of them make the rules here. I do.” He purred, “My powers have grown immensely since we last spoke and now, I am the owner of this Outpost.” His voice sent a chill up Lucy’s spine as she tied her apron, turning around to face him. He was still naked and she couldn’t resist the urge to run her hands down his chiseled chest and abdomen.

“I am in awe of you, Michael. I always have been. You captured my heart at age 15 and you still have it now. You have all that power bubbling under your skin and yet you still chose me. You could’ve had any woman in the world but you fell in love with a skinny little ginger from Long Beach. I don’t understand why, but I am thankful for it.” Lucy smiled and Michael just kissed her, his thumb lovingly stroking the freckles on her cheeks. As she turned back around to face the mirror, Michael continued to kiss her body, sucking hickies onto the visible skin of her neck as he wanted everyone to know who she belonged to. His hands lightly caressed her arms as she put her long red hair back under her grey headscarf, pouting like a child when all her luscious hair was pinned away.

“Don’t let them treat you like you’re worth less than they are. You are strong, sexy, and wise beyond your years. If I had known you were coming here, you would’ve never been a Grey. You would’ve been dressed in the finest purple silks money could buy. You would be my Queen and I would never let your hands touch another cleaning instrument again.” Michael said as he nibbled on her ear. Lucy let out a sigh and shook her head.

“You of all people should know how criticism affects me. I haven’t been able to shake the bullies my whole life. How am I supposed to act like the beautiful brave goddess you think I am when I am the complete opposite?” Her voice trembled and Michael quickly took her head in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes.

“Lucinda. Don’t you DARE say that… What is it you once told me? You are kind, you are smart, you are important!” When Michael spoke her own words back to her, Lucy let out a quiet sob before giving him a sad smile. She kissed him once more before forcing herself away from him.

“I love you, Michael.” She breathed before walking towards the door. Michael stopped her the second she grabbed the door knob, snatching her by the wrist.

“Come back to my room tomorrow night. You will no longer sleep with the other Greys. You will stay with me in my private room.” He kissed her knuckles gently before rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, “I love you too, Lucinda. Never forget that.” Lucy couldn’t stop herself from giving him one last kiss before leaving his office. It was a desperate and needy kiss but it was enjoyable for both parties nonetheless. Lucy then quickly closed the door behind her, her fingers lightly grazing her swollen mouth as everything seemed to hit her at once. Her soulmate was not only alive, but he loved her back and he was going to protect her at all costs. Her face was flushed as she took a deep breath, a smile teasing at her lips as she finally walked down the hall back to her dorm. Unbeknownst to her, Gallant had been walking by just as she left Michael’s office. He saw the last kiss the two of them shared and envy began to boil in his veins. Someone else had captured Langdon’s heart and Gallant couldn’t stand it. He saw the hickies on her neck as she walked away, his hands balling into fists with jealousy. Gallant stormed off with a huff, concocting as many ideas as he could about how to humiliate Lucy.

Lucy, meanwhile, just made her way back to the Grey dormitory only to be met with a shocked and annoyed Mallory.

“Girl, where the hell have you been?! You’re lucky I picked up your shit for you after you went AWOL! Where the fuck did you go?!” Mallory demanded, her voice softening when she saw the newly forming bruises on Lucy’s neck.

“Mi- um… I mean, Langdon grabbed me for my interview. It took longer than I thought it would. I’m sorry.” Lucy said and Mallory immediately became worried. His interview of her had gone very strangely and Mallory still didn’t understand most of it, but she was now concerned for her friend.

“He didn’t try to hurt you, did he? Like he didn’t try to keep you there when you were trying to leave?” Mallory asked and Lucy shook her head.

“No! Absolutely not. He was nothing but kind to me.” Lucy replied, catching a glance of herself in the mirror beside her and noticing the bruises he’d left her, “Shit!” She cursed under her breath, covering her neck with her hand before letting her hair down, despite only just recently having put it back up.

“Listen… my interview with him wasn’t the best. He showed me his true face and it was horrifying. It was like looking at the face of Satan himself…” Mallory’s voice trembled before Lucy glared at her.

“Shut up… Don’t you dare say that about him!” She snarled. The shocked look on Mallory’s face was enough to cause Lucy to clear her throat out of embarrassment, “I… I’m sorry… He just seemed so nice to me, I don’t want to think about him any other way.” And that was the last thing she said to Mallory for the night. She barely slept the entire night because the knowledge that Michael was sleeping only a few floors above her was driving her insane. She still couldn’t fully understand that all that was happening was completely real. Lucy was terrified that one day, she’d open her eyes and Michael would’ve never existed in the first place… That all she shared with him was nothing more than a beautiful dream.


	17. A Storm Is Brewing In The South

The next morning after breakfast, Lucy really started working on her chores to keep her mind occupied. If she thought about Michael, even for a second, she’d never get anything done. She was in the middle of cleaning the floors when a pair of deep purple shoes came into her field of vision.

“Good morning, Mr. Gallant.” Lucy greeted him, sitting back on her heels to look up at him. Normally Gallant tolerated her. He was never overly nice nor overly aggressive to her. However this day, the expression on his face was one of pure disdain.

“Who said you could speak, Ginger Minge?” He spat and Lucy was immediately confused. What had put him in such a foul mood?

“I’m sorry, Sir.” Lucy apologized as she got back to work, dipping her brush in the soapy water. Gallant then kicked her bucket over, causing Lucy to scramble out of the way when the water spilled everywhere, “What the hell, man?!” She burst out and Gallant just laughed.

“Who gave you the right to talk to me like that? I’m a Purple, I’m above you.” Gallant said, watching as Lucy tried to soak up the water with a towel. He then pulled back and kicked her hard in the face, completely breaking her nose. Lucy cried out in pain, grabbing at her face as she collapsed to the ground.

“Whatever Langdon sees in your pretty face, he certainly won’t see it anymore.” Gallant kicked her in the stomach multiple times, using the wall behind her to make his kicks more forceful. Once Lucy was struggling for breath, Gallant walked away, proud of what he’d done to her. Lucy was just lying on her side in tears, her nose bleeding heavily as she tried her best to breathe again. Gallant had completely knocked the wind out of her and she started making wheezing noises when she could finally breathe again. She struggled to get to her feet, pressing a towel to her nose before running off to her dorm. She sat on her bed and pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering just why Gallant hated her so much for just walking out of Michael’s office. She knew that Gallant had a thing for Michael, but she didn’t know he would go so far as to break her nose and nearly puncture a lung. Lucy finally managed to get her nose to stop bleeding, but she already had bruises forming around her eye sockets. She was also still having a difficult time breathing, but she did her best. She did what she could to avoid Gallant for the rest of the evening as well as evading questions about her swollen face from the other Greys. All that she knew was that she needed to finish her chores and make it to Michael’s room later that night as she had promised.

Just after Lucy finished her tasks for the evening, she snuck away from the rest of the Greys and quickly made her way to Michael’s room. She knocked on his door three times and a painful smile crossed her face when he opened the door. Unfortunately, Michael’s face dropped in horror when he saw the state of his beloved’s face. He immediately pulled her inside, his eyes wide with shock as he took her head in his hands.

“Lucinda, what happened?!” He demanded, pulling back when she winced after he touched her nose.

“Gallant… I was cleaning the floor this morning when he came up to me. At first, he just kicked over my bucket of water but then he kicked me in the face and the stomach. I have no idea why he did it, but it feels like he broke my nose and cracked one of my ribs.” She explained and Michael felt his blood boil. He turned away from her, anger seething through his entire body. He was planning on killing Gallant anyway, but now he had a reason to torment him as well.

“Michael?” Lucy breathed, putting a hand on Michael’s shoulder to get his attention. He turned back to her, giving her a weak smile before he reached up and caressed her face once more. Michael then used his abilities to heal all the injuries Gallant had caused her, fixing her broken nose and healing her cracked rib. Lucy shivered when he healed her, her hand lovingly stroking his arm as he did so. Michael quickly undid her hair once he was finished, wanting to see her as she truly was.

“I promise you Lucinda, you will never have to deal with Gallant ever again. From this day forward, you will be my own personal Grey. That way you will be close to me and not have to handle his bullshit.” Michael said and Lucy quirked an eyebrow.

“Won’t that raise suspicions though? Won’t that make people think we’re together?” Michael only laughed in response, wrapping an arm around her to pull her closer.

“But we ARE together. Let them talk. Their opinions don’t matter to me. All that matters is that you’re mine and mine alone. I OWN YOU, body and soul.” He whispered before kissing her deeply. Lucy happily returned the kiss, one of her hands tangled in his strawberry blonde hair. It was during their kiss that Michael’s computer made a noise, alerting him to a new message. He pulled away and approached his computer, looking over the message on the screen. Lucy, meanwhile, walked up behind him and spied over his shoulder. The message was explaining how, once again, the artificial wombs had failed to produce healthy offspring once the embryo was implanted. Lucy raised an eyebrow as she was rather confused as to why Michael would be concerned with artificial wombs and things of that nature.

“So… What exactly does the Cooperative  _ DO?”  _ Lucy asked and Michael whipped around, slowly closing his laptop.

“It basically controls what's left of the world. I own the Cooperative and they listen to what I say. That email you just saw was from our scientists who are trying to find a way to repopulate the Earth.” Michael explained, “Ever since the bombs dropped, the Cooperative built up its strength and resources to provide for the Outposts as well as for those in need. The Cooperative has been around long before you and I were ever born, but I managed to take control of it after the Earth was destroyed.” Lucy was even more confused then than she was before Michael’s explanation.

“If you run the Cooperative, why can’t you save all of us in here in the Outpost? When you first arrived, you said only a few of us would be going to the Sanctuary. Surely, if you own the Cooperative, you can make changes to it?” Lucy asked, “Even though these people haven’t exactly been the nicest to me, I don’t want them to die because of it.” Michael let out a heavy sigh at Lucy’s response, shaking his head and taking her face in his hands once more.

“Lucinda… My Precious Starlight… Even with all my power, the Sanctuary was only built for a certain number of people. It’s almost completely full now, and there’s only room for a small few left.” Michael didn’t want her asking many more questions so he tried his best to placate her concerns. The more she probed into the nature of the Cooperative, the closer she’d get to finding out what he truly was…. And he was terrified that she would leave him once she discovered his dark truth.

Lucy eventually relented, giving up on her questioning as she lovingly nuzzled into his hands.

“You won’t leave me out of the Sanctuary, will you?” She murmured and Michael simply laughed.

“My Precious Starlight, you were always one of the chosen few to be in the Sanctuary. The moment I gained control of the Cooperative, if I learned you were alive, you were always part of my plan.” Michael kissed her deeply, pulling her into his lap as he sat in his desk chair. 

The two of them made love until the sun rose, their moans intermingling in the dark as Michael claimed her once more. The marks he left on her were even worse than before but Lucy loved them. She no longer cared what the others thought about her relationship with Michael. She belonged to him and he belonged to her.

Lucy awoke with a start the next morning, shooting up on the bed as a cold sweat stuck to her skin. She didn’t remember the exact nightmare she’d had, but she did remember that it was agonizing. Images flickered across her eyes every time she blinked. Visions of death, blood, of a man with a white face and black eyes cackling at her, and the sensation of her flesh melting off her bones tormented her with every beat of her heart. Lucy took several deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She glanced over and saw Michael sleeping peacefully beside her. His beautiful face was highlighted by the roaring fire in his room and Lucy couldn’t help but smile. She ran a hand over his gorgeous cheek, pushing his hair out of his eyes. She rolled over and stared at his sleeping form, resting on her elbow as she watched him.

“I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you, michael. I love you desperately… When I found your home in Los Angeles, I cried out your name just in case you were there… I needed you…. I  _ still  _ need you.” Lucy’s voice trembled and she went silent, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed with a sigh.

“Don’t leave.” Michael spoke up, reaching out and grabbing her by the wrist. Lucy squealed in surprise, looking over at Michael who was now staring up at her. He pulled her back into the bed, making her giggle as he rolled her onto her back and crawled overtop of her, “I’m surprised you’re awake before me.” He mused, pressing soft kisses to her cheeks and eyelids.

“So am I… I just had a nightmare is all. I can’t really remember it though.” Lucy murmured and Michael smirked, kissing her lovingly.

“It’s only your mind tormenting you. Your subconscious is bubbling to the surface after all the horrible things you’ve seen since the bombs went off. There’s nothing to be afraid of while I’m around, love.” Michael purred and Lucy sighed heavily.

“I love you, Michael.” She mumbled, kissing him once more when the door to Michael’s room suddenly opened. Ms. Mead stood in the doorway as Lucy tried to hide under the covers but Michael just laughed, stopping her from hiding and exposing her body to Ms. Mead.

“Sir, the Cooperative wishes to speak with you. They’re on the phone in your office.” Ms. Mead said, her eyes glancing over to Lucy in Michael’s bed.

“Tell them I will be right with them. Also, let them know I have made my selection for the Sanctuary and I will be sharing it with them shortly.” Ms. Mead nodded at Michael’s words before leaving, closing the door behind her. Lucy smacked Michael in the shoulder once they were alone, shooting off the bed out of embarrassment.

“What the hell, Michael?! Why’d you let her see me naked?!” She shouted as she quickly put on the red silk robe Michael had given her. Michael just continued to laugh, shaking his head as he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

“As I’ve told you before, you need not pay attention to Ms. Mead and Ms. Venable. They will not harm you and nor will I… I promise.” Michael kissed the soft skin in the crook of her shoulder, earning a gentle moan from Lucy.

“I know you’ll never hurt me. It’s the others I don’t trust.” Lucy pulled away before she walked into his bathroom. She was in desperate need of a shower, despite not wanting to wash herself clean of him. Hopping into the shower, the scalding hot water seeping down her skin, Lucy let out a groan. Her entire body relaxed under the hot spray, her curly red hair plastered to her skin as she began washing herself. She was so caught up in the warm water that she only notice Michael had entered the shower with her when she felt a blast of cold air from him opening the door.

“I missed you…” Michael whined into her ear, his arms wrapping around her abdomen, pulling her ass against his rapidly hardening cock.

“Michael, I’ve only been gone five minutes!” Lucy laughed, moaning quietly as she felt him roll his hips against her, “Baby… don’t you have a phone call to take?” She asked breathlessly, leaning forward and bracing her hands on the shower wall.

“They can wait. After all, I do own them.” Michael nibbled on her earlobe before he took himself in hand, lined up his cock, and pushed himself inside her with a hard thrust. He bottomed out inside her with a single stroke, gripping her hips as he started pounding into her even harder than he had the previous night. Lucy started crying out, the shower walls making the sounds of her moans as well as the sounds of Michael’s thrusts even louder. Michael threw himself over her back, one of his hands moving lower and tweaking her clit while his other hand gripped her hip hard. His nails dug into her hip muscle before he slapped her ass on a particularly deep thrust, causing Lucy to gasp in pleasure and pain. When she unconsciously tightened around him in response to the spank, Michael chuckled under his breath.

“You like that, don’t you? You like it when I spank you.” Michael slapped her ass again and Lucy let out the same noise she’d made earlier.

“YES! Oh fuck yes I do, Michael! I love everything you give me!” Lucy’s hair was completely stuck to her skin from the water, her body shivering from both pleasure and the cold air. Her orgasm continued to build even more as he kept spanking her, her inner walls clenching down tightly around him.

“FUCK! Oh shit, Lucinda!” Michael growled through his teeth, a hot fiery sensation building at the tip of his cock. His free hand that was tweaking her clit began to work it harder which caused Lucy to cry out in ecstasy. Michael kept cursing under his breath, moving his hips faster as his orgasm took him by surprise. He hissed out her name as he gripped her hips, his cock throbbing hard as he pumped his cum deep within her. The sensation of Michael dumping his seed inside her ended up triggering Lucy’s orgasm as well. Her scream reverberated off the bathroom walls as her body contracted around him. She would’ve collapsed to her knees had Michael not been standing behind her. Lucy panted hard as she finally came back to herself, the world practically spinning as she opened her eyes. Michael simply laughed as he felt her body trembling around him.

“Despite being in the shower, you are certainly a dirty girl… My Lucinda.” Michael pulled out of her with a wince, helping her to stand completely. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, pushing her soaking wet hair out of her eyes.

“I love you, Michael…” Lucy breathed and Michael smiled, grabbing the shampoo and beginning to wash her hair.

“I love you too, Lucinda.” Michael replied, working the soap to a nice lather as he completely cleaned her. He helped rinse off her hair as well as the soap she had applied to the rest of her body. Lucy did the same to him once she was finished, having to stand on her tiptoes to wash his beautiful blonde hair. When the two of them were completely clean, they finally left the shower and started drying each other off. When Lucy looked over at Michael drying his hair, a smile of surprise crossed her face as she saw a light dusting of freckles across his collarbone. She approached him, snickering quietly as he hand grazed his skin, her thumb rubbing over the beautiful spattering of freckles.

“Phoenix…” Lucy whispered and Michael looked down at her confused, “Sagittarius…” Her finger follower a pattern of freckles on his collarbone that resembled the familiar constellation, “Hydra…” Her fingers danced across his chest as Michael soon took her hand in his.

“I thought that was my thing.” He teased and Lucy smirked, reaching up and running a hand through his damp hair.

“You have freckles too… can’t I turn you into a constellation as well? After all, I worship you much the same way ancient civilizations worshipped the stars.” Lucy leaned up and kissed him gently, completely in awe of the man in her arms.

* * *

 

Meanwhile across the Outpost, Ms. Mead was knocking hurriedly on Ms. Venable’s door. The taller woman answered, a bit confused at the worried expression on the older woman’s face.

“I’d like to report a grave violation of the rules that I’ve just witnessed.” Mead said and Venable welcomed her into her office.

“What did you see?” Venable demanded, her eye scanning Mead’s nervous face.

“As I was delivering a message to our Cooperative representative, I caught Langdon engaged in sexual intercourse with one of the Greys. Specifically, I believe it was Lucy Ratsch, one of the newest Greys to arrive here. Ever since Langdon arrived, he’s had a strange fascination with her. I think she’s using him to screw over everyone else’s chances at the Sanctuary. I know for a fact that she doesn’t like Gallant and some of the other Purples have mentioned her giving them dirty looks. If what I saw today was any indication, Miss Ratsch is using Langdon through sexual favors in order to secure her place at the Sanctuary all while manipulating others out of their places.” Mead explained and Venable narrowed her eyes. She’d always had a bad feeling about Lucy, so this  just confirmed her suspicions about the Grey. After all, Lucy had come from an underground bunker that was not run by the Cooperative. Venable locked her jaw, knowing she’d have to make an example of Lucy.

“Well then, I guess we’ll have to teach her a lesson for breaking the rules. Ms. Mead, the next time you see her, bring her to the dungeon. I will deal with her then. Thank you for reporting this to me.” Venable excused the woman and Mead nodded in acknowledgement. She left the room with a dark smile on her face, knowing that swift punishment would be served.


	18. It's Time You Go To Sleep

The next morning, Lucy left Michael’s quarters in much better spirits than the night before. Not only had she and Michael made love over and over again, but he’d healed the wounds Gallant had given her. He also gave her a new work schedule and a letter to show anyone who asked about it. After all, she  _ was  _ his very own personal Grey.

Lucy was busy grabbing a fancy bottle of wine from a back store room when Ms. Mead found her. Michael had given her the code to this secret room as he had planned on sharing the wine with her that evening.

“Excuse me, but just what do you think you’re doing?” Mead boomed and Lucy jumped in surprise, turning around with the bottle of wine in her hands.

“Ms. Mead! I was just getting this wine that Langdon asked for.” She pulled out the letter he’d given her and showed it to Mead. The older woman read it but she just laughed and ripped it to pieces.

“I know what you’re up to, you stupid girl. There will be consequences for this…” Mead then ran at her with a taser, shocking her and causing her to drop the bottle in pain. Lucy fell to her knees and screamed as another Outpost guard came into the room, picked her up off the ground, and threw her over her shoulder. Lucy was shocked once more before falling unconscious, terror flooding her veins as she wondered just what she had done wrong.

When she awoke, Lucy was standing upright with her arms tied to two chains hanging from the ceiling.

“What the hell?” She breathed, looking around in fear as she also realized she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties.

“What the hell, indeed. I should be asking you that question, Miss Ratsch. More specifically, I should be asking you what the hell you were thinking trying to manipulate your way into the Sanctuary?” Ms. Venable said as she approached, her cane echoing off the floor.

“What?! What are you talking about?! What have I done?!” Lucy demanded and Venable smirked.

“You were caught engaging in unauthorized intercourse. If that wasn’t bad enough, you were caught doing it with the most powerful man in the building. Did you really think you could get away with that?” Venable snorted a laugh before yanking Lucy’s head to the side by her hair, examining the hickies Michael left on her body.

“Ms. Venable, please, this runs deeper than you know! Just go talk to Michael, he’ll-”

“Michael?” Venable cut her off with a scoff, “So you’re on a first name basis with him now? Of course you would be. After all, you’d need to know who’s name to cry out while you’re breaking my rules…” Venable then turned to Ms. Mead and nodded at her. The older woman then pulled out a small walkie talkie and began speaking into it.

“Attention residents of Outpost 3, your presence is required in the library immediately with no exceptions! Those who do not attend will face punishment!” Mead’s voice was heard over the loudspeakers and Lucy swallowed dryly.

“What are you gonna do to me?” Lucy whimpered and Venable stomped her cane, causing the tall female guard to detach Lucy from her chains and tie her wrists together, escorting her out of the room. Lucy was practically dragged down the hall, tears burning in her eyes as she was forced to stand before those that had gathered in the library. When she tried to run or hide herself, the tall female guard stood behind her and made sure she didn’t try to run. She also made sure she was exposed by holding her arms behind her and arching her back slightly. Everyone in the Outpost was there, except for Michael. He’d been called away by the Cooperative right before he told Lucy to go get the wine. Ms. Venable soon arrived in the room as well, putting her cane under Lucy’s trembling chin.

“This ungrateful Grey was found in unauthorized intercourse with the Cooperative agent known as Langdon. It is our belief that she was having sex with him in order to manipulate his choices for the Sanctuary.” Venable proclaimed as everyone started murmuring to each other. Gallant stared Lucy down with the harshest eyes all while the poor girl just started sobbing, unable to move from her spot, “Now, it would be bad enough if she had copulated with another Grey or a Purple without permission, but this slut, this dirty, disgusting whore decided to go straight to the top!” Lucy was then struck with intense pain as Ms. Mead whipped her back with a thick leather whip. At this point, Lucy was in too much pain to move, not even trying to run away under all the hateful eyes staring at her. Mead whipped her six more times, giving her a total of seven bloody marks upon her back. Lucy was screaming and crying in agony, wondering desperately where Michael was. She had fallen to her knees when the whipping ceased, wrapping her arms around herself as if that would protect her. Sadly, Lucy wasn’t given much peace as Venable grabbed her by her hair and yanked her to her feet.

“For the rest of you, take this slut as an example. If any of you try any kind of unauthorized intercourse, the punishment will be swift and harsh. You will end up in the same place as this disgusting, wretched whore.” Venable hissed in Lucy’s ear as she released her hair. She then pulled out a gun and handed it to Mead, the sight of the gun causing Lucy to scream.

“NO! No please, I’m begging you! Please let me live!! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, this will never happen again, I promise!” Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, her entire body shaking with fear as Mead put the gun against her temple. She kept screaming and sobbing, begging for her life as Venable just laughed in her face.

“Oh I know you won’t… And Ms. Mead here will make sure that you NEVER do it again.” Venable said and nodded at Mead who started to pull the trigger. However, for some reason, Ms. Mead found herself unable to pull the trigger, “Ms. Mead?” Venable asked, watching as the woman continued to struggle to pull the trigger.

However, as fate would have it, she’d never get the chance to.

“ **STOP!!!”** Michael screamed as he entered the room. Everyone looked around to face him as he ran to Lucy, catching her in his arms as she fainted out of pain and fear.

“Mr. Langdon, I do believe you’re intruding on my demonstration.” Ms. Venable spat and Michael looked up at her, his eyes suddenly turning black.

“Yes I am, and this demonstration is now OVER!!” He growled loudly, “You do NOT make the rules here, Ms. Venable!” Michael then stalked toward her with Lucy in his arms, the White Faced Demon revealing itself only to the domineering woman before him, “If you so much as breathe the wrong way in her direction ever again, I will PERSONALLY throw you to the festering feral cannibals outside these walls!!” He snarled, his face returning to normal as he looked at the rest of the terrified people, “The same goes for the rest of you. Any harm upon Lucinda will be taken as harm upon me, and I will kill you myself!” Michael shouted at them before storming out of the room with Lucy clutched to his chest.

Michael ran up the stairs, rushing into his room as he put Lucy’s bloody body on his bed. He cupped Lucy’s head in his hands, lightly patting her face to try and wake her up.

“Lucinda? My Precious Starlight, please wake up!” Michael pleaded as Lucy’s mismatched eyes slowly fluttered open. The second they did, pain rushed through her veins. She sat straight up and cried out in agony, sobbing as she doubled over in pain.

“Lucinda, I’m so sorry! I’m so so sorry, I didn’t expect that they’d do that.” Michael whispered as he held her, his large hands splaying over her back as he began to heal her wounds.

“You said I had nothing to fear from Ms. Venable and Ms. Mead! Why did you lie to me?!” Lucy sobbed and Michael sighed heavily.

“I assumed Ms. Mead wouldn’t have told Ms. Venable about us. Unfortunately I was wrong and you paid the price for my ignorance.” Michael took a deep breath as his abilities started healing the wounds left by Mead’s whip. He hated knowing that she was in pain because of him. All he knew was that his final solution to the Outpost problem had arrived earlier that day and once his plan came to fruition, he and Lucy would go to the Sanctuary with Ms. Mead and be free from all this.

“I can’t take much more of this, Michael. I’ve lost everyone else in my life, I can’t lose you too…” Lucy whimpered and Michael kissed her as all her wounds were finally healed. He caressed her cheeks, pressing his forehead against hers when he pulled away.

“Don’t worry. This will all be over in the next few days, I promise. You and I will be going back to the Sanctuary and we will be safe there.” He kissed her again and Lucy whined into his mouth.

“Can I sleep here for now? I’m really tired from all this and I don’t want to face those beasts just yet.” She said with a sigh and Michael nodded with a smile.

“Of course. You take as much time as you need to rest.” Michael kissed her forehead, using his abilities to allow her to fall asleep faster than normal. Lucy snuggled up tight in his red silk sheets as Michael pushed a strand of her curly red hair out of her face, “Sleep well, my Precious Starlight.” He whispered as he heard his phone ring in the small side room off of his bedroom. He knew the Cooperative had been scrambling as of late since they hadn’t exactly anticipated the number of people that would survive the initial bombs. Despite his hesitation to leave Lucy alone, Michael went off and answered the Cooperative’s call while Lucy slept soundly in his bed.

Little did he know of the drama unfolding inside Lucy’s mind.

She had fallen asleep quickly and soundly, expecting to have some kind of random uneventful dream. Strangely though, when her eyes opened in her dream, she was greeted by a familiar sight. The beautiful cherry tree from all those years ago was in full bloom, its soft pink petals fluttering across the large green landscape. Lucy was rather surprised she was back there, as she hadn’t been there since before the bombs. Nevertheless, she was still happy to see it as it reminded her of all the good times she shared with Michael. However, as soon as she started dancing around in the flower petals, the air around her seemed to change. The blue sky filled with dark grey clouds and the wind picked up, blowing so hard that it completely ridded the cherry tree of all its petals. Lucy was confused until she saw a tall figure walk out from behind the now dead tree. The strange thing was that it looked like Michael, but Lucy could immediately tell it wasn’t him. The man’s face was completely white, as if he was wearing makeup, and his eyes were completely blacked out like a demon’s. There was a bloody pentagram carved into his forehead and he had a demented expression on his face.

“What are you?” Lucy demanded as the man approached her. He just cackled, his voice sounding deep and demonic.

“ _ Oh sweetheart, you act like you don’t know me, but you know me better than anyone else. After all, you are my Precious Starlight.”  _ He, no,  **_IT,_ ** purred. Lucy felt all the blood drain from her face at its words.

“No… You’re not my Michael. This is just a nightmare!” Lucy clutched at her head as the creature got even closer, putting a clawed finger under her chin and forcing her to look it in its black eyes.

“ _ Oh but I am… or its more like Michael is me. Michael and I are one and the same.”  _ The monster mused, waving its free hand and spawning a large projector and movie screen. It snapped its fingers and suddenly a video of young Michael slaughtering a priest appeared before them. Another video of Michael wearing a leather bodysuit, murdering a lesbian couple flashed before Lucy’s eyes and she felt nauseous. She was forced to watch as Michael set the couple’s souls ablaze, their screams echoing in her ears. She was then shown Michael watching as a young woman’s heart was torn from her chest and placed in his hand. Lucy had to stop herself from vomiting when Michael took a large bite out of the heart, the taste of the muscle filling her own mouth. Suddenly, a large shadow of a demonic creature sprung up behind Michael, expanding its wings as Michael smiled.

“ _ Father… I’m with you now…”  _ Michael spoke and Lucy felt her heart stop. She collapsed to her knees, pressing her hands against her ears to block out the demon’s incessant laughter.

“STOP!!! STOP IT!!! Michael is not evil! This is just a nightmare!” Lucy screamed and the demon shook its head.

“ _ Oh no, it’s all too real. Michael Langdon is the Antichrist… And I am Michael Langdon… We are the Antichrist and we caused this worldwide destruction. Michael drew upon my strength to destroy humanity. Everyone is dead because of him.”  _ The Antichrist said with a dark smile and Lucy shook her head, trying to rid her ears of its words.

“NO!! That’s not true! That’s impossible! You’re lying to me!!” She screamed again, “C’mon Lucy, wake up! Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!!” She smacked her head hard against the trunk of the cherry tree, forcing herself awake as she sat straight up in a cold sweat. Her hair was stuck to her skin with sweat, her cheeks wet with tears she hadn’t remembered crying. She ran both hands through her hair, trying to steady her breathing as she came to terms with her dream. Whatever creature that invaded their dream world and took Michael’s form made her question everything she knew about her soulmate. Michael had told her he’d done horrific things in the past, but he’d never been specific about it. He never truly explained what horrible deeds he had committed. And now that the false Michael had shown her specific examples, Lucy felt a bubble of fear forming in the pit of her stomach.

The sound of Michael shouting in the next room over only increased her nerves as well.

Sliding out of the bed, Lucy approached the door, hearing Michael’s angry voice on the other side. The door wasn’t locked so she slowly pushed it open just a crack as her mismatched eyes fell upon his form. He was sitting on his desk, a landline connected phone in his hand. He was postured in such a way that it made Lucy nervous. His back was to her and she could see him tap his fingers anxiously on the table he sat upon.

“So what you’re telling me is that there are no more spots in the Sanctuary? You have the GALL to tell me that the Sanctuary that I fucking created is completely full?! You’ve gotta be fucking joking!” Michael said with an angry laugh, “Oh no… there’s no way in Hell that’s happening. I’ve told you before, there will always be a spot open for a woman named Lucinda. I’ve found her here at Outpost 3 and she’s coming back with Ms. Mead and I!” He paused, standing up and approaching the roaring fireplace before him, “So you MAKE ROOM!! I’m the fucking Antichrist, in case you’ve forgotten, and what I say goes! You wouldn’t even be alive if it wasn’t for me!” Michael shouted and Lucy audibly gasped as she heard his confession. The creature in her dream was telling the truth.

She was in love with the Antichrist…

Her gasp must have been rather loud as Michael whipped around upon hearing her, his face going pale as he saw Lucy’s eyes. Lucy immediately slammed the door shut and ran into the bathroom, grabbing a bathrobe before running for the door. However, when she tried to open it, she found that it was locked and she felt Michael’s presence standing behind her.

“My Precious Starlight, let me explain-”

“NO!!” Lucy screamed, “You don’t EVER get to call me that again!!” Her eyes burned with tears as she stared him down, her heart racing as she now knew the truth, “Why didn’t you ever tell me you were the Antichrist?! Why didn’t you tell me you MURDERED innocent people in your childhood home?!” She screamed as she stood frozen in place.

“I didn’t want to scare you away… I knew you’d act like this if you knew.” He approached her but she ran to the opposite side of the room, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

“You caused the apocalypse, didn’t you?” Her words were full of spite and hatred, “You were the one who threw the world into utter chaos… YOU MURDERED MY MOTHER!!!” Lucy continued to scream at him as her entire view of him changed in that one instant, “I was visited in our dream world just now by a creature who told me everything. It showed me the atrocities you committed. I saw you watch as an innocent woman was murdered and sacrificed to you… AND THEN YOU ATE HER FUCKING HEART!!!” She stepped closer to him, watching as he began to cry in front of her, “You slaughtered two innocent women who moved into your house! Not only did you just kill them, but you DESTROYED THEIR SOULS!!” Her voice was loud and angry. Her entire body was trembling with emotion as every cell in her body hated him.

“Lucinda… please… listen to me… I was young then, I didn’t know how to handle the dark thoughts in my head. I didn’t know that you could’ve helped me!” Michael whimpered, reaching out for her but Lucy jumped back.

“Don’t fucking touch me! Don’t you EVER fucking touch me again, you lying beast!” She snapped, sobbing loudly as she kept getting angrier and angrier, “You’re a goddamn MONSTER, Michael! You’re a fucking creature of the night who should’ve died a long time ago… You lied to me… You made me believe that there was one tiny ounce of good left in this world… Little did I know that the light I saw in you was just an illusion… Another lie concocted by you to make a naive 15 year old girl treat you like her own personal god.” Lucy hissed before finally walking around him and getting the door unlocked. As soon as she opened the door, Michael fell to his knees in tears, grasping at her bathrobe and sobbing loudly.

“I’m sorry!! Lucinda please don’t go! Everyone else has left me, please don’t you leave me too!! You’re the only fucking thing I have left!” His dark powerful facade melted away in that moment and Lucy finally saw the eyes of the sad little boy she fell in love with oh so long ago.

But in her eyes, all that love for him disappeared the second she learned what he truly was.

“I hate you, Michael… Go rot in Hell with your father.” Lucy spat once more, yanking her bathrobe out of his hands before storming out of his room, leaving Michael all alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY Y'ALL, JUST LETTING Y'ALL KNOW THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE FIC, DO NOT DESPAIR (yet)...


	19. His Berth, It Rocks, Heave Ho Heave Ho

Lucy walked down the hall in tears, passing by Greys and Purples alike who were confused out of their minds when they spotted her. She didn’t stop walking until she got to the Grey dormitory, collapsing onto her bed in tears. She sobbed into her pillow as Mallory walked into the room. The second she saw her, Mallory ran to her friend’s side, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Lucy! Oh my God, Lucy, I can’t believe Ms. Venable did that to you! That woman is a stone cold bitch who deserves to die.” Mallory wrapped her arms around Lucy when she sat up, letting her friend cry into her shoulder.

“It’s not Venable… Venable is nothing compared to Langdon!” Lucy whispered between sniffles and Mallory’s jaw clenched.

“What did he do to you? What happened?” Mallory demanded, getting suddenly protective of Lucy.

“He showed me his true face… You warned me once before about his true face and I said you were wrong… But… But from what I saw… Mallory, you don’t know how right you really were.” Lucy stammered, “Langdon is pure evil… He’s a monster!” Lucy started crying again and Mallory just held her close, petting her hair gently.

“It’s ok… I’m so sorry you had to find out like that. I’m really sorry, Lucy.” Mallory stayed silent while Lucy continued to break down. She allowed her friend to let it all out, to have as much time as she needed to release all her emotions. It took Lucy a good 15 minutes to finally calm down in Mallory’s arms before she slowly pulled away, wiping her eyes before taking a shaky breath.

“I don’t ever wanna see him again.” Lucy whispered and Mallory nodded.

“You don’t have to. I’ll let you take my chores to get away from him, ok? Plus Ms. Venable said he already rejected the invitation to the Halloween party tomorrow. Also, I don’t think he’s gonna be here much longer and I get the feeling you won’t see him much at the Sanctuary either.” Mallory offered a gentle smile and Lucy smiled back.

“Thanks Mal… You don’t know how terrified I am of him now.” Lucy was still trembling but much less so than earlier. Mallory just nodded and handed her a clean dress, helping her put it on since her hands were still shaky. Mallory was quite confused as to how the whip marks on Lucy’s back suddenly disappeared, but she didn’t question it. Lucy took a deep breath and hugged her friend once more before attending to the chores Mallory was assigned while Mallory took over Lucy’s, This meant that Mallory was the one to overhear Michael’s cries of agony in his room instead of Lucy. She was polishing the floor outside his room, as Lucy was supposed to do, and all she could hear was screaming and crying from the other side of the door. She jumped in surprise when she heard a loud crash as well, like something had been thrown across the room. Mallory tried her best to ignore Michael’s cries of pain, but when he started talking, she couldn’t stop herself from pressing her ear against the door.

“It was all your fault! You had to go and show her what we’ve done! Why the fuck did you do that!? If you’re a part of me, you should love her just as much as I do!” Michael shouted and Mallory felt her blood run cold when she heard a second, darker voice speak up in response. The second voice was much quieter than Michael’s, almost sounding like an echo.

_“She was making you weak. Ever since the beginning, she’s been nothing but a distraction to you. I only manipulated what you could see so you could fulfill your destiny.”_

“You lied to me is what you did! You made me believe she was dead so all of this could happen! I NEVER FUCKING WANTED ANY OF THIS!!” Michael shouted at the darker voice and Mallory pulled away from the door, knowing that she didn’t want to hear any more of the conversation. All she knew was that it seemed like Lucy was Langdon’s weakness and that whatever dark spirit resided inside him didn’t like her. Maybe Lucy had encountered this dark spirit and that’s what caused her to break down, Mallory thought. Regardless, she wanted to stay out of it. As long as Langdon wasn’t hurting her or Lucy, Mallory didn’t want any part of his nonsense.

That night when Lucy and Mallory returned from their duties, Mallory sat beside Lucy on her bed, helping her to brush her wild hair.

“I overheard Langdon when I was cleaning the floors.” Mallory started and Lucy immediately tensed, “You appear to be his only weakness. He said that he loved you… He was talking to someone else but I didn’t stick around long enough to hear much else.” She explained and Lucy let out a heavy sigh.

“I did love him once, Mallory. I knew him before...everything. I knew him when he was just a broken little boy with the entire world against him. I just never knew about the evil that bubbled beneath the surface.” Lucy murmured, rubbing her neck where there were still some remaining hickies, “We are soulmates… Even now… We shared our dreams. We bared our souls to each other, letting each other into our lives far deeper than anyone else. Sadly, it seems Michael was far better at keeping secrets than I was.” Lucy sniffled quietly before Mallory hugged her from behind.

“I’m sorry… I wish he was truly as good as you thought he was.” Mallory then hopped onto her own bed, leaving Lucy by her lonesome. Lucy sighed to herself and ran a hand through her hair. How was she going to live her life without Michael? She didn’t give it much more thought that night before she closed her eyes, content with shutting Michael out of her life forever.

However, it seemed the universe had other plans for them as Lucy was once again transported to her Dream World. Her eyes fluttered open and she sighed upon seeing the cherry tree for the second time that day.

“Michael, I told you, I never want to see you again! Please don’t be pathetic and try to beg for my forgiveness in my dreams.” Lucy groaned, annoyed by the idea that Michael was trying to use their dream world to reconcile. However, it wasn’t Michael who stepped out from behind the tree after Lucy spoke.

It was someone new.

A tall brunette man with the most muscular body Lucy had ever seen stood before her wearing nothing but a white loincloth. Lucy’s jaw dropped in shock and awe of this new man, confused as to who he was.

“Who are you?” Lucy asked tentatively, “What are you doing in my dream?” The man simply laughed, his laugh seeming almost musical and ethereal.

“I’m someone who wants to help, Lucy. As for how I got here, well, I helped make this world in the first place. I helped bring you and Michael together.” He said and Lucy’s eyes widened.

“You brought us together?”

“Well, not me specifically, but I helped your relationship flourish and helped keep your dream world open. My name is Manakel and I’m Michael’s guardian angel.” Upon learning what he was, Lucy scoffed loudly.

“How could the Antichrist have a guardian angel? The son of Satan, the epitome of all things evil, the ender of the fucking _world_ has a guardian angel?! I’m sorry, but how does that make sense?” Lucy crossed her arms and Manakel smirked, approaching her with a warm glow surrounding him. He then waved his hand and spawned the movie theater that Michael created in the very first dream he shared with Lucy.

“Do you know anything about me, Lucy?” He asked and she shook her head, “I’m the angel who balances the scales of good and evil. I’m able to see both good and evil in everyone… including Michael. Even Lucifer was an angel once, and his son shares that angelic blood. Michael is not completely evil. He was a good person when you met him. You two fell in love for a reason. Unfortunately, despite my best attempts, abuse and heartbreak still managed to find their way to Michael and I blame myself for not protecting him more.” Manakel then took Lucy’s hand and walked with her into the familiar movie theater, turning on the projector and showing her a scene she’d watched before: Michael destroying the souls of the two women.

“Manakel, please, I don’t want to see this again…” Lucy whimpered and Manakel nodded.

“Just wait. The White Faced Demon did not show you everything.” Lucy watched as Michael collapsed to the ground in tears, his eyes going to a tall man who was staring down at him with burning hatred.

“ _I never could’ve helped you… It was foolish to try.”_ The man hissed before storming off, leaving Michael in a room full of dead bodies as he sobbed his eyes out. Lucy glanced over at Manakel for an explanation, confused about the whole situation.

“That man was Dr. Ben Harmon, Michael’s father figure who took him under his wing after his grandmother took her own life. He basically saw Michael as his adopted son.” The angel then rewound the footage, showing Ben and Michael getting along and learning about each other. “Ben was the only caring figure in Michael’s life for quite a while, so when he abandoned him, it only made things worse in Michael’s head. And, as it turns out, it wasn’t entirely Ben’s fault.” Manakel then showed Lucy a scene of young Michael sitting on a bed with what appeared to be a leather mask in his hand. As he was examining it curiously, a man in a green striped sweater ran into the room. Lucy watched in horror as Michael called the young man “Dad” and said he wanted to be like him, only to be verbally assaulted for it.

 _“You didn’t spring from my nut sack, got it?! Not even I could create something as monstrous, as **EVIL** , as you!”_ Lucy felt her heart cry out in sympathy as she saw Michael collapse in tears on the bed, having been openly rejected by what appeared to be his biological father.

For the next few hours, Manakel showed Lucy the reasoning behind all of Michael’s horrific acts. He showed her the abuse he suffered at the hands of his family and the subsequent evil actions that came from the abuse. He also showed her Michael’s “adoption” by Ms. Mead and the Church of Satan. Michael thought he’d found a family through the Church only to be manipulated and lied to by them for their own selfish purposes. Manakel also showed Lucy Michael’s agony and heartbreak when he was lied to by the White Faced Demon and made to believe that the love of his life was killed by the witches.

“It was this falsification of your death that pushed Michael over the edge and into the hands of the Antichrist and the Cooperative. I tried my best to help him along the way, but Lucifer’s power along with the power of his human followers protecting Michael have prevented me from doing so. The only time I’ve been able to access his heart and his true goodness is when you’ve been around him.” Manakel said, looking over at Lucy who was currently staring at an image of young Michael smiling on screen.

“Is there any way to help him?” Lucy asked, her voice breaking with emotion.

“The boy you fell in love with is still there but he’s being controlled by Satan, by the White Faced Demon inside of him. As of right now, I don’t have many ideas on how to stop the creature, but I do know that you’re part of the solution.” Manakel explained. Lucy felt mixed emotions brewing in her stomach. On one hand, she knew Michael’s evil acts were due to how he was raised as well as the demon feeding off him. On the other hand, he still did the evil acts in the first place. He himself still caused the apocalypse that killed billions. He still lied to her and didn’t tell her that he was a murderer.

“I don’t want to forgive him for all he’s done. He’s killed so many innocent people, whether it was his decision or not, he still did it.” Lucy whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes as Manakel reached over and put a hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to forgive him… You just have to be there for him when he needs you.” Manakel looked into her mismatched eyes and Lucy swallowed dryly, “I can tell you still love him. Even though you told him otherwise, your souls are still connected and you still have a deep love for him. He was there for you when no one else was, despite his own internal darkness. He often fought through his own pain to keep you happy. He loves you just as much as you love him. Don’t lie to yourself, Lucy. I can see into your soul and see the truth, not matter how hard you try to hide it.” Manakel stood up and the movie theater melted away, leaving the angel and the lover of the Antichrist alone in the green fields.

“I’m terrified.” She said breathlessly, “I’m terrified that I can’t help him and that this demon will consume him. I love him with my entire being and that’s what scares me the most… I’m willing to give my soul wholeheartedly to the most dangerous man on the planet without a second thought… But why do I feel like that’s the wrong thing to do?” Lucy felt new tears spring forth from her internal conflict.

“Lucy… Your hesitance to give yourself to Michael just proves that you’re human. It shows that you have a moral compass that isn’t so willing to forgive the man who ended the world.” Manakel took Lucy’s hand as large white wings sprung from his back, stretching out from his body as Lucy stared at him in awe, “Just stay by his side Lucy. You don’t need to forgive him completely, but something is coming that will test him. Something is going to happen in the next few days that will determine Michael’s fate and the fate of the rest of the world. You need to be by his side when it happens.” Manakel then kissed Lucy’s forehead, suddenly causing her to wake up in the real world. Her eyes snapped open and she stared up at the ceiling of the Outpost in shock. She remembered every single minute of her dream and she couldn’t believe it. Lucy didn’t fully understand what Manakel meant when he said that something was going to test Michael, but she did understand that she needed to obey the angel’s commands. Despite how much it would hurt, she needed to be with Michael whenever this event happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, for those of you curious as to the meaning of the name Manakel for Michael's guardian angel, here is the link for why I chose the name!
> 
> https://www.luvze.com/angel-manakel/


	20. The Ocean Gnashed And Moaned

That morning was certainly different than normal as Ms. Venable had encouraged everyone to dress up and participate in Halloween activities a few days prior. Lucy never expected that Ms. Venable would’ve been the type to enjoy Halloween, but then again, she never expected her soulmate to be the Antichrist either. All Lucy knew was that she was just happy for a change of pace. She stayed with Mallory most of the day, helping her work on Coco’s costume as well as her own mask. Lucy managed to snag some feathers from one of Evie’s old dresses for her mask. She was excited out of her mind that she finally got to show off her artistic skills, even if it was on something that small. As she put the finishing touches on her mask, Lucy couldn’t stop thinking about Michael. She wondered if she was going to see him at the party later, even though he already rejected Ms. Venable’s invitation. Despite her anger and her hatred towards him for ending the world, Manakel had warned her for a reason, and she needed to follow his orders.

Just as she put on her mask and was about to head to the library for the party, Lucy was stopped on the doorway by Michael. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Lucinda?” Michael asked and Lucy gritted her teeth, clasping her hands behind her back like the good little Grey she was.

“I was about to go to the party,  _ sir.”  _ Lucy hissed, bitterness clear in her words, “Ms. Venable said attendance was mandatory.”

“Not for you. You’re not going to that party.” Michael grabbed her by the wrist and began walking down the hall with her. Lucy struggled against him, confused as to why he didn’t want her going.

“Michael, what the hell?! This is the first opportunity I’ve had here to have fun and you’re taking that away from me?! God, you really  _ ARE  _ evil.” She spat angrily, noticing the tears brimming in Michael’s eyes at her comment.

“I’m doing this for your own good. I promise, you’ll thank me later.” He said, walking into his room with her and closing the door behind them. The room was silent for a moment as they met each others eyes. Lucy didn’t know what to say as all she could feel was anger and betrayal despite knowing what Manakel said.

“You need to stay here until the party's over, ok? Trust me, you’ll die if you go out there.” Michael’s voice quivered and Lucy stared at him confused.

“Michael, what have you done?” She breathed.

“I’m just culling the herd. The Cooperative told me to eliminate everyone I’m not bringing to the Sanctuary. You’re the only one making it out of here alive. Please understand Lucy, even though I own the Cooperative, their choices are just as powerful as my own. This was the compromise for your spot at the Sanctuary." He explained and Lucy felt even sicker than she had before.

How could she possibly love a man who was slaughtering innocent people just to keep her safe?

But then she remembered what Manakel had showed her. She remembered how terrified he was as a little boy who didn’t understand his body and his violent impulses. She remembered watching in horror as his Gramma physically and verbally assaulted him after he killed the priest. She  _ vividly  _ remembered him walking out of the house barefoot in tears after his Gramma abandoned him, nearly getting hit by a car in the process. There was so much more to Michael than what he showed on the outside. He might’ve been a dangerous powerhouse of a man, but on the inside, he was a sad scared little boy desperately crying out for help and affection.

“Michael… I love you… but when I look at you now, all I feel is terror. You murdered billions of people, including my mother, and you just expect me to forgive you for all of that?” Lucy removed her mask so she could look at him completely, taking her hair down so he could see all of her, “I remember one night when I was 15 years old. I had been rather depressed that day since I’d been pushed to the ground by one of my usual bullies. I was fully prepared to just have another boring dream and get on with my shitty life the next day. However, when I opened my eyes in my dream, I was greeted by a beautiful cherry tree and a lush green field… I also met a young boy who was trembling in fear at the base of the tree. I couldn’t see his face but I knew he was scared of something. I knew how it felt to be in pain, so I took it upon myself to be kind to this boy.” Lucy slowly stepped closer to Michael, watching him as he listened to her story, “I got to know the boy. I saw him for who he truly was. I listened to him when he cried and he held me tightly when my depression made me feel like I was worthless. He made me feel like there was at least one good person in the whole shitty world…. That I had one person on my side…. I loved him.” She now stood inches away from him, a single tear slipping from her eye, “But then I lost him. He was stolen from me by those who wanted to use him and manipulate him. When I finally saw him again, the beautiful blonde boy I fell in love with was no longer there… He had been replaced with a demon of anger and hatred. Sure he was standing in front of me, he LOOKED like my soulmate, but it wasn’t the man I fell in love with.” Lucy’s voice cracked as her emotions surged, causing her to sob as she struggled to keep it together. She reached up and put both hands on his face, her thumbs rubbing over his cheekbones as he let out a shaky breath and kissed her palm.

“I just want my Michael back…. I want the beautiful little boy back that stole my heart. Please… Please come back to me Michael… I’m begging you, come back to me!” She whimpered before Michael sighed again, shaking his head as his eyes opened to look down at her. Lucy saw the hurt in his eyes. She saw the desperation he had to break free. She saw how exhausted he was from fighting the demon that had consumed him. Lucy wanted to free him from the demon, but at the same time she knew it would probably kill him on the way out.

“The boy you loved is long gone, Lucinda… If you want me, you need to accept all of me as I am now. You can’t change what’s been done. All you can do is take me as I am and love me that way. Please, I can’t lose you again… Not again.” He whispered before Lucy pulled away. She shook her head, wiping her tears and running both hands through her hair.

“I don’t know who you are anymore, Michael. I still love you, but that love is killing me inside.” Lucy then heard his laptop make a noise as a new message popped up on screen, “You better answer that, sir… It might be important.” Lucy walked into his bathroom and locked the door, sitting on the toilet as she burst into tears. Meanwhile, Michael just wanted to destroy everything in his room. He wanted to set fire to the world all over again as guilt consumed him. He’d never really felt any guilt over his actions until that very moment. Lucy had always been the one to make him see things differently and that moment was no exception. He was about to break down completely but the sound of loud vomiting and coughing from downstairs brought him back to reality. The White Faced Demon took control then, forcing his emotions deep down inside him and sitting him down at his desk to answer the Cooperative’s message. Lucy had heard the vomiting from the bathroom and although she was upset over Michael killing everyone, she was grateful he spared her from that horrific fate. She remained in the bathroom until the retching was over. However, when she tried to unlock the door, she found herself unable to do so.

“Michael? Michael open the door.” Lucy spoke up, not getting an answer and immediately becoming concerned. Her concern only increased when she heard Michael’s door open.

“Ladies, I’m a little busy right now formulating my selections.” Michael said and Lucy pressed her ear against the door to hear better.

“This won’t take long.” Ms. Venable’s voice reached Lucy’s ears and she felt her stomach turn with worry.

“What’s this?” Michael asked.

“We’re making the selections now, Mr. Langdon. And I’m afraid you didn’t make the cut.” Venable replied and Lucy immediately started trying to pick the lock. Michael just laughed in awe of these two gutsy women.

“I’m sorry… I wanted to let you have your moment, but I just couldn’t hold it in.” Michael smirked and Lucy heard him rise from his chair.

“You think this is funny?” Venable snapped back.

“I think I’m impressed, Ms. Venable. I wasn’t sure you had it in you. You’ve passed the test… You’re perfect for the Sanctuary.” Michael’s voice was as hypnotic as ever and Lucy was pissed that she couldn’t see what was happening.

“Ms. Mead?” Venable spoke up and Lucy heard the click of a gun.

“NO! No, Ms. Venable, please!” Lucy screamed and banged on the door but Michael had placed a spell on the door so no one heard Lucy’s cries.

“I wouldn’t do that.” Michael purred but Ms. Mead just kept pointing her gun at him. However, the gun in Ms. Mead’s hand slowly moved from pointing at Michael to pointing at Ms. Venable.

“Ms Mead?” Venable questioned before Lucy heard a gunshot.

“NO!!!!” Lucy screeched and sobbed behind the door, thinking Mead had shot Michael. However, when she heard Mead’s tentative words, she immediately relaxed.

“I don’t know why I did that… I was always loyal to her!”

“It’s all right.” Michael’s soothing voice calmed Lucy down even more, “You were obeying commands, like you’re programmed to do.”

“My commands?” Mead asked worriedly.

“Did you enjoy executing the poison apples plan as much as I enjoyed coming up with it?” Michael asked and Lucy couldn’t hold back a smirk. Of COURSE that smug bastard planned all of it.

“You wanted everyone dead?” Mead replied.

“I’ve never been a fan of getting my hands dirty… Learned that from my father. Always more fun to entice men and women to dirty deeds. Confirms what I’ve always believed.” Lucy could almost hear the smirk in Michael’s voice as he spoke.

“W-what do you believe?” Mead stuttered.

“That all people, if given the right pressures or stimulus, are evil motherfuckers.” Lucy then let out a heavy sigh as sadness consumed her. She knew it was his demon saying all those nasty things. He’d been alone under Satan’s influence for so long that his demon had more control than he himself did. Lucy then sat on the floor and listened as Michael explained to Mead about her memories and the thought made Lucy smile.

“I can’t imagine a new world without you by my side. The only mother I’ve ever truly had…” It was then that the door finally unlocked and Lucy came tumbling out. Ms. Mead instinctively pointed her gun at Lucy but Michael quickly stopped her.

“No… she lives… Ms. Mead, I know you’ve already met her, but now that you’re awake… This is Lucinda. She’s my soulmate.” Michael explained with a smile but Lucy said nothing. She just watched as Mead helped Michael change his jacket and she slowly became in awe of the bond she and Michael shared. He seemed so happy with her by his side that Lucy almost felt like she herself was completely unnecessary. Lucy remained quiet and stood in the corner of the room until she saw Michael freeze in place.

“What is it?” Mead asked, having also noticed the look on his face.

“A powerful presence.” Michael murmured and Lucy’s worry came back with a vengeance.

“What do you mean? Everyone’s dead!” Mead said in shock.

“Not anymore.”


	21. Like Jonah We'll Be Swallowed Whole

The second Michael sensed the strange presence in the outpost, his tone change dramatically as Lucy could tell his demon had taken over once more. Something was very wrong and even she could sense it, despite not having any magical abilities. Lucy quickly followed Michael and Mead out the door and down the hall. Her mismatched eyes widened as she saw Mallory, Coco, and Dinah standing with three other strange women. Lucy didn’t hear much of what they were saying, but she did hear what Michael said in response.

“How can any of you defeat me, when I’ve already won?” He boomed as Lucy stood on the opposite side of Ms. Mead, realizing that the blonde woman in the center of the group was none other than Cordelia Goode.

“You haven’t won.” Cordelia hissed and Michael smirked.

“Perhaps you haven’t noticed the state of the world.” He clapped back with a smile.

“It’s almost as bad as your dinner jacket, but at least the world can be saved.” An older redheaded woman spoke up, staring Michael down.

“By you?” Michael asked sarcastically.

“By ALL of us.” Cordelia replied.

“Hey! Get the wax out of your ears, I’m here to watch.” Dinah chimed in.

“But I’m not.” Coco spoke up, storming forward to face Michael, “Just don’t let me die again, ok? It really sucked the first time.” Her voice trembled after Michael gave her a deadly look.

“When I’m done, you’ll all wish you were still dead.” Michael hissed, anger building up inside him.

“I always thought the world would end with fire and ice, not witches and warlocks.” The redheaded woman scoffed and Lucy swallowed dryly.

“The Seventh Seal has been broken. Wormwood has fallen from the sky and turned the rivers to blood and fire. The bottomless pit has been opened and my swarms of locusts and scorpions have ravaged humanity. The world has been remade in my father’s image.” Michael’s words and tone of voice made Lucy weak at the knees, but she knew it wasn’t him who was speaking, it was the White Faced Demon.

“Darling…” The redhead chuckled, “It seems daddy didn’t tell you the most important rule of bringing on the apocalypse. If you want to finish the job, the thing you have to do first is get rid of all the witches.” She snickered and Lucy felt almost nauseous. She wanted to protect Michael but she had absolutely no idea how she would do that.

“Big mistake.” Coco smirked.

“Shut the hell up you little bitch!” Lucy hissed, causing all the witches to look over at her. She immediately regretted not holding her tongue as she looked to Michael for help.

“I could annihilate all of you in a second and the world would go on without missing a beat.” Michael spat, taking back control of the situation, “You and all of your work will be forgotten in the rubble of the past.” He then took a step closer, his tone softening slightly, “But I want to give you a future. Fall to your knees and accept me as your lord and savior and I will bring you to the table as my obedient subjects.” His offer was rather enticing for Lucy but the witches clearly weren’t swayed. Cordelia just laughed in his face until Mead started shouting.

“Imbeciles! Fall to your knees before the king! Hail Satan!”

“The only way we would sit at your table is if your decapitated head were the centerpiece.” Cordelia growled and Lucy couldn’t take it anymore.

“STOP IT!” She shouted, getting their attention once again, “Please… just stop all this. Killing each other isn’t going to fix our broken world. Why can’t you all just use your powers for good and heal the world together?!” Lucy suggested and all the women scoffed.

“I’m sorry, but who the fuck are you?” The woman Lucy recognized as movie star Madison Montgomery hissed at her.

“Lucinda Ratsch.” Cordelia spoke up, having read her mind, “Oh my poor girl… you’re in love with him.”

“What?!” Coco and Madison said in unison.

“You need to see him for the true evil he is. Please, step away from him and help us.” Cordelia offered Lucy a hand but she firmly shook her head.

“He’s not truly evil! You don’t know what the hell he’s been through! Please, Ms. Goode, just leave him alone!” Lucy begged but Cordelia just sighed. She then waved her hand and picked Lucy up off the ground with her mind, pulling her to the ground level before muttering something in Latin. All of a sudden, Lucy couldn’t move. It was like she had been wrapped in invisible restraints that she was unable to break.

“Don’t you dare touch her again.” Michael growled as Dinah stepped forward, staring at Michael rather seriously.

“Cordelia, you raised me from the dead so that you would have the power of voodoo on your side… But if you know anything about who I am, you’d know that the only choice I’d pick would be the winner.” Dinah explained as she approached Michael. Lucy kept struggling behind the witches, trying her hardest to break from the restraint spell all while watching the scene play out in front of her.

“You’re half right, Dinah.” Cordelia clarified before Lucy spotted another woman walk out from the shadows.

“She needed the help of a powerful voodoo queen.” A tall woman laughed as she approached Dinah, “But that ain’t you,  _ sis.”  _ Dinah looked at the woman in shock and awe, clearly confused as to what was happening, “To release me from Hell, Cordelia promised Papa Legba the darkest and most corrupt voodoo queen’s soul for mine. You’ll serve him well in my place.”

“You’re a fool, Marie Laveau… You would have done no different if you were queen.” Dinah was full of rage and Lucy could see it in her eyes, even though she didn’t understand any of what was happening.

“NO!” Marie teleported behind Dinah with a smirk, chopping her throat open with a massive knife and standing over her body as she bled out. Lucy screamed in horror, shocked by everything that was going on, “Out with the trash! Give Papa my regards.” Marie chuckled. 

The bloody scene was finally interrupted by the sound of a gun clicking and Lucy looked over and saw Ms. Mead take her hand off to reveal a machine gun attached to her arm. Suddenly, Lucy’s eyes widened as Cordelia started speaking Latin and Ms. Mead began to convulse and seize beside Michael.

“Ms. Mead?” Lucy felt her heart shatter as she immediately recognized Michael’s voice as the demon had left for only a moment. Unfortunately the moment was destroyed when Ms. Mead suddenly exploded, the force of which launched Michael off the stairs and onto the floor.

“MICHAEL!!” Lucy screamed, trying desperately to move but she was still frozen in place. She watched in horror as he reached over and held Ms. Mead’s disembodied head and she could see the tears trekking down his face. Lucy couldn’t stop staring as Michael got to his feet and Madison grabbed the gun off the floor.

“No… Madison please! Please don’t do this!!” Lucy begged but she was promptly ignored.

“Sorry about your little toy… Bitch.” Madison muttered as Michael turned around before she opened fire on him.

“ **_NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”_ ** Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs as she was forced to watch the love of her life get shot to death. She kept screaming even after Madison finished firing, falling to her knees as she sobbed loudly behind them.

“Oh quit your crying. He was a monster.” Madison rolled her eyes at Lucy who suddenly began to feel the air around her crackle with energy. Her fingers and hands felt all pins and needley, like she had been sitting on them for a while. Lucy just assumed it was adrenaline as she glared up at Madison.

“No… You’re the monster… YOU’RE ALL MONSTERS!!” She screamed again, feeling overwhelming guilt building in her stomach as she realized she had failed Manakel as well as Michael. She was unable to protect him when he needed her most. 

It was in the midst of her agony that she heard the redhead start speaking once more.

“A personal item.” She said, handing Mallory a lock of Michael’s head, “Remember dear, focus on it. Use it to locate a time and place early in Michael’s life.” Lucy watched in horror as Mallory started chanting something and she began to put the pieces together. They were going to travel back in time to kill him as a baby and stop the apocalypse from ever happening in the first place.

“Bullets alone won’t kill him.” Lucy felt her heart stop as she heard Cordelia’s words, “He’s become too powerful. We have to find a place to cast the spell before he wakes up.” Lucy stared up at the witches, trying to formulate a plan in her broken mind about how to stop them.

“I’ll hold him off as long as I can.” Madison said and Lucy continued sobbing as she tried to come to terms with what she’d just seen. However, not long after Mallory and the other witches left the room, a flaming body suddenly came screeching to the floor from up above. It was this shocking event that caused Madison to spin around. Lucy, meanwhile, watched as Michael blinked awake and all his blood got sucked back inside his body. A smile crossed her face as she watched him rise again, still in shock as she heard Madison mumble something about retail. Michael then rose his hand and stared Madison down as her head exploded with a clench of his fist. Lucy screamed in surprise but she couldn’t be in shock for too long as Michael approached her and broke her free from the restraint spell.

“Stay right here, you understand? I’ll be right back, I promise.” Michael kissed her forehead before running up the stairs, leaving Lucy surrounded by dead bodies. At first, Lucy was too shocked to move, but then she remembered what Mallory was planning.

No… She couldn’t let that happen.

Lucy ran up the opposite staircase from Michael, listening closely to the voices and screams down the other halls. Since she was a Grey and had worked in the Outpost for six months, she knew the hallways like the back of her hand. She also knew of all the secret passageways and hidden rooms that she and Mallory frequented. Something deep inside he was leading her to one room in particular, all while her hair stood up on end and her fingers kept tingling for some strange reason. Lucy didn’t stop running until she saw Mallory’s barely conscious body sitting in a bathtub full of dark water in the room she had been drawn to. She didn’t know what to do until she heard Cordelia’s and Michael’s voices from down the hall.

It was now or never.

Lucy used all her strength to yank Mallory out of the bathtub, her body hitting the floor just as she gasped awake. She shouted something in Latin before realizing where she was and who had her pinned to the floor.

“Lucy let me go!” Mallory screamed but Lucy just stared her down.

“ **_I WON’T LET YOU KILL HIM!!!!!”_ ** She screamed as loud as possible before the tingling in her fingers became almost painful. Suddenly, a burst of energy exploded out from Lucy’s hand and Mallory caught ablaze. Lucy backed up in shock as she saw Mallory screaming in pain as she was slowly being burned alive. She shoved the tub out of the way so Mallory couldn’t extinguish herself and Lucy watched her collapse to the ground, her corpse smouldering on the floor. Lucy couldn’t pick her jaw up off the floor as she was absolutely stunned by what she had just done. She had just killed someone… Someone who used to be her friend… She killed her best friend in order to protect her soulmate.

“My Precious Starlight…” Michael breathed and Lucy spun around, her mouth still hanging open as she couldn’t believe what just happened, “I knew there was something special about you… I always knew there was more to you, I just didn’t know what… until now.” Michael had a huge smile on his face after having just witnessed his soulmate murder the Supreme witch to save his life.

It was then that Lucy broke down. She ran to him and embraced him, screaming uncontrollably into his chest. She sobbed hysterically, clinging to Michael as if he would disappear if she let go.

“I watched you die!! I watched them slaughter you and I couldn’t stop them!” Lucy screamed again and Michael hushed her, kissing the top of her head soothingly.

“It’s alright… Lucinda, it’s all over now… All the witches are dead.” He’d managed to kill Myrtle Snow right after Cordelia killed herself, leaving him and Lucy as the only survivors in the entire Outpost. Lucy then saw what appeared to be a knife wound in his shirt. Her eyes widened and she ripped his shirt open, expecting to see a gaping wound, only to come face to face with his perfect uninjured chest. She ran a hand over his skin and Michael laughed, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles.

“I’m too powerful to be killed normally now. Being stabbed no longer affects me.” He smiled tearfully as the demon inside him was finally sated. It allowed Michael to completely be in control of himself as he stared into Lucy’s sparkling eyes, “My little witch… You saved my life.” His voice trembled as he leaned forward and kissed her deeply. Lucy gladly kissed him back, sobbing into his mouth as she continued to ugly cry. She’d heard what he called her, but she ignored it for the moment. She was too wrapped up in her intense emotions to process much of anything.

“I’m so sorry about the hateful things I said yesterday… I was just so angry I couldn’t control myself.” She breathed, the two of them falling to their knees in the middle of the hallway, “When I saw Madison shoot you… I realized in that moment that I physically can’t live without you. You’re my soulmate. You own my soul and when I saw you die, I swore I felt my soul die with you.” She whimpered, pressing her face against Michael’s chest as another wave of sobs ripped through her, “I can’t lose you like that again… No matter how I feel about what you’ve done in the past, I can’t live in a world without you!” Her admission made Michael cry in earnest, clinging tightly to Lucy as they both just completely let out all their emotions.

“I love you so much, my Precious Starlight… My beautiful, brave, amazing Lucinda… You saved my life and for that, I am forever grateful.” He whispered to her, placing kisses to her wet cheeks and jawline.


	22. And Spat Back Teeth And Bones

Lucy pulled away from Michael then, looking back into the room where Mallory’s corpse was still on fire. She couldn’t believe she was capable of that kind of evil. But then again, she did it to protect Michael, and she’d do anything to keep him safe.

“How… How did I do that? Michael, I’ve never done anything like that before.” Lucy’s voice was still trembling from the shock and Michael chuckled. He released her from his arms in that moment and approached Mallory’s body. He quickly made a knife appear in his hand and he kneeled down, slitting Mallory’s throat. Her blood spilled all over the floor and Lucy just sat on the ground completely numb. Her entire body was buzzing with energy she didn’t understand and now her soulmate had just slit the throat of a dead woman.

“I just wanted to make sure she wouldn’t come back. As for how you did it, it seems that the shock of witnessing my death was enough to trigger your innate magical abilities.” He said with a smile, walking back to her and helping her to her feet, “You’re a witch, my Precious Starlight, and from the looks of it, you’re the Supreme witch now.” Michael’s smile stretched from ear to ear as Lucy absorbed what he just told her. The Supreme witch? She never even knew she had magic in her blood and now she was being told she was the most powerful witch alive. Lucy ran both hands through her hair as she finally began to process it all.

“So… are we the only ones left alive in the entire Outpost?”

“Yes. Everyone else is dead.”

“Ok… How much longer is it just gonna be the two of us?”

“The Cooperative is sending a carriage that should arrive within the next day or two. I planned this all along so they’re already on their way.” Michael clasped his bloody hands behind his back as Lucy nodded, taking a few steps back from him and closing her eyes. She needed to clear her mind before she did anything else.

“I need to take a shower. Not only do I have Madison Montgomery’s blood on me, but I’m sweaty and covered in robot juice.” She mumbled and Michael nodded.

“Go ahead. I’ll just be cleaning up and gathering supplies… Unless you’d rather I join you?” He asked with a smirk but Lucy immediately shook her head.

“NO!” She said, possibly a bit too harshly, “No… Please… I’d rather just take a shower by myself. There’s still too many things bouncing around in my head. Even though I do love you, you’re still the Antichrist. You still ended the world. I’m not sure I can completely forgive you for that, Michael.” Lucy said quietly and Michael felt his heart drop. He’d assumed that because she’d saved his life, she had forgiven him for all he’d done. Unfortunately this was not the case and it made him feel almost nauseous.

“Oh… Ok… Well, I’ll be in the library when you’re finished.” He teleported out of the hall then, leaving Lucy by herself. The second he was gone, Lucy started crying again. She let out a muffled sob, covering her mouth as she cried into her hands. She couldn’t believe that she’d just murdered her best friend and fell back into the arms of the Antichrist. It was entirely too overwhelming and she could barely get herself together enough to walk into a nearby room to take a shower.

As she stood under the scalding hot water, Lucy stared at the blood dripping off her body and flowing down the drain. The fact that it wasn’t her own blood only heightened her anxiety. She kept sobbing in the shower, the water masking her tears as she sat on the floor of the tub. She was a murderer. She’d set her best friend on fire and didn’t even try to put her out. She was no better than Michael. Lucy pulled her knees to her chest, sitting under the hot water for so long that it eventually went cold. She knew she had to go out there and face him, despite how badly she didn’t want to.

It was only when she was drying herself off that she got a good look at herself in the mirror and saw just what life at the Outpost had done to her.

Lucy was just a tad bit skinnier than she was before she arrived, which wasn’t very good for a girl that was nearly skin and bones to begin with. Her eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle and she now had obvious bags under them. She glanced down her naked body and mapped out her freckles, wondering just how Michael had ever found them attractive. However, her gaze stopped at her faded scars that covered the tops of her thighs. Lucy thought she had given herself those marks during her lowest moments. She thought there was no possible way she’d ever feel any worse.

Unfortunately, she was VERY wrong.

However, the very second she even considered self harm, Michael suddenly appeared beside her.

“Don’t you dare.” He murmured seriously, causing Lucy to nearly jump out of her skin when he surprised her.

“What the hell?!” She exclaimed, “How the hell did you get in here?!” Lucy asked before pausing, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Wait, nevermind, you’re the Antichrist, of COURSE you can teleport. And I’m assuming you read my mind as well? I thought I told you I wanted to be left alone.” She hissed softly before Michael reached out and caressed her face. Despite all her conflicting emotions, Michael’s simple touch was enough to calm her down almost immediately.

“You may have wanted to be alone, but from what I can see in your mind, being alone is the last thing you need right now.” Michael then teleported the both of them back to his room, the strange mode of transportation leaving Lucy a bit lightheaded. Michael increased the size of the fire in the fireplace since Lucy was beginning to shiver as all she wore was a towel and her hair was still damp. He then grabbed his red silk bathrobe and wrapped her in it, looking down at her with a sad expression.

“Hey… I can hear what you’re thinking… Please don’t be so hard on yourself. You did what you had to to.” Michael said, lifting her chin so she would meet his eyes.

“She was going to travel back in time and kill you as a child. I never would’ve met you, or even worse, I would’ve already fallen for you and if she killed you, I would’ve never known what happened to you. I couldn’t let her do that to you. Does that make me a bad person if I’d rather save the man I love instead of the rest of the world?” Lucy asked, her hesitance clear in her voice. Michael just smiled and shook his head.

“I would’ve done the same for you.” He leaned forward and kissed her then, his movements fluid and gentle. She returned the kiss, but with less passion than he gave her. He pulled back, slightly confused at her lack of emotion, “Lucinda… I’m not above begging for your forgiveness anymore. I will do anything and everything it takes to make you happy again. Please… Come back to me, my Precious Starlight.” The sound of his voice breaking made Lucy’s heart shatter. She remembered what Manakel had showed her. She’d seen everyone he’d ever known reject him for his evil acts. She also saw his reactions to that kind of hatred, and that only led him further into the demon’s clutches. She had lost him to his demon once before…. She couldn’t do it again.

“Michael… I forgive you. I may not completely understand everything, but I know that you never wanted any of this. The beautiful little boy I fell in love with all those years ago is still in your heart… And I need him back in my arms.” Lucy stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him, claiming his mouth with hers. He gladly kissed back, his large hands tingling in her hair as he pulled her close. Michael kissed down her neck, his hand caressing her arm before reaching behind to grab her ass.

“You’re so beautiful… You’re my savior, my Precious Starlight, my Lucinda… You’re my everything.”

“And you’re mine, Michael. You’re the only family I have left. You’re my whole world, my love.” Lucy kissed him again and he smiled against her lips, his fingers wrapped in her hair. The two of them kissed for what seemed like an hour before crawling into the bed together. Both of them were completely exhausted from the day’s events. Not only had they both used plenty of their own magic, but they were emotionally drained as well. They each thought their soulmate had been lost to them forever, only to be happily proven wrong. Michael faced away from her on the bed while Lucy slept on her back. She adored the feeling of his silk sheets and Michael ran hot as it was so she never once got cold during the night. Unfortunately, Lucy didn’t expect nightmares to tear through her mind as she slept.

Visions of the White Faced Demon flashed behind her eyes. She watched helplessly as a duplicate of herself was being lovingly caressed and kissed by the White Faced Demon. The false Michael adorned the false Lucy with kisses, its long claws stroking across her naked body. Lucy felt nauseous as the White Faced Demon quickly turned its attention away from the false Lucy to the true one as a dark smile crossed its face.

“STOP!!” She screamed and the dream quickly changed to show the same scene from earlier that day. Lucy watched in horror as Madison Montgomery shot Michael repeatedly and relentlessly with a machine gun. Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs as Michael’s blood splattered across her face. However, things only seemed to get worse as Michael wasn’t getting up this time. Lucy rushed to his side and took his bloody face in her hands, her tears blurring her vision.

“Michael?! Michael wake up! Please Michael, don’t leave me, PLEASE!!!” She screamed in her dream. Little did she know that her screams weren’t being restricted to just her dreams.

Michael had been sound asleep when he was suddenly woken up by loud screaming. He shot up in the bed and looked over to find Lucy seizing and screaming in her sleep.

“Lucinda?! Lucy! Lucy wake up!” Michael grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently, causing her mismatched eyes to snap open. When she finally woke up, Lucy stared up at Michael’s worried face as tears filled her eyes.

“Michael!” She exclaimed and wrapped her arms around him, “Don’t leave me! Please don’t leave me!” She cried out, sobbing violently into his shoulder.

“Shh… It’s ok… It’s alright now… It was just a bad dream.” Michael searched her mind, horrified by the dream she’d just had.

“She killed you! She shot you and you didn’t wake up!” Lucy screamed against him, trembling and shaking her head as she held him close.

“Lucinda, my Precious Starlight, it’s ok. I’m right here. I’m alive… I’m alive because of you. You saved my life…” Michael took her hand and put it overtop of his heart, letting her feel his racing heartbeat. This sensation of his rapid pulse under her palm quickly brought her back to reality. She swallowed hard as she finally began to steady her breathing.

“I’m… I’m sorry I woke you.” Lucy whimpered but Michael just gave her a weak smile. He lovingly caressed her cheek, pushing her hair out of her face.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to worry about anything, my Precious Starlight.” Michael kissed her forehead and both her cheeks, “I’m still here. You’re still here. Mallory and the other witches are dead. It’s just you and me… Just as it always should’ve been.” Lucy let out a heavy sigh and pulled herself close to his chest, breathing in his scent.

“I love you, Michael. I love you so much. I’m so sorry for all the hateful things I’ve said. You’re the only one left in this whole dead world that loves me.” Her voice quivered but Michael said nothing. He simply kissed her once more and helped her to lie back down.

“Roll over. I’ll hold you.” Michael instructed and Lucy happily complied, rolling onto her side and smiling when she felt his arms surround her. He slept completely naked and she only wore her bra and panties, so she easily felt his cock pressed against her ass and was always impressed by his size. She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her hips back against him and Michael hissed through his teeth.

“Are you sure you want to do this, love?” He asked as he kissed the back of her shoulder.

“I want to show you just how much I forgive you. Plus, I gotta admit, watching you murder Madison Montgomery like that was oddly sexy and I won’t lie about that.” Lucy then grabbed his hands, moving one to her covered breast while moving the other to inside her cotton panties as she spread her legs for him. She took in a sharp breath when he started pressing her clit with his thumb. She also continued to push her ass against him, smirking to herself when she felt his cock rapidly harden under her ministrations.

“Oh Lucinda… My Precious Starlight… Lucinda, you’re my everything.” Michael whimpered as he took himself in hand, moved the crotch of her panties out of the way, and slowly pushed into Lucy’s warm welcoming body. They groaned simultaneously as he bottomed out, her walls clenching and trembling around him. The hand that was on her breast quickly moved to grip her thigh, lifting her leg to give him better access. Lucy immediately moaned at his movements once he lifted her leg. The new angle caused him to brush against her g-spot with every thrust, making her breathless.

“Michael!” She exclaimed when he started rubbing her clit again, even fast this time despite his thrusts remaining slow and deliberate. He wanted her to feel good and feel every ounce of love he had for her.

“God, Lucinda, I love you with every fiber of my being! I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you again… You’re my whole world.” Michael rambled as he picked up his pace, rolling her clit under his fingers as soon as he pushed as deep inside her as he could go.

“Michael please! Please, I’m gonna cum!” Lucy warned, her body squeezing him tightly and causing him to moan directly into her ear.

“Oh baby, cum for me! Cum all over me!” He snarled, working her clit even faster and her body quickly obeyed. Her back arched against him and her mouth opened in a silent scream as she came around him, her orgasm leaving her breathless. The rhythmic clenching of her inner walls dragged Michael over the edge with her. He moaned obscenely loudly as he came, his balls tightening as he shot off inside her. His hand gripped her thigh so hard he nearly drew blood as he pumped pulse after pulse of hot cum into her. He twitched with every jet of it, finally relaxing behind her after a few moments. Both of them were panting from the force of their orgasms and Michael smiled against Lucy’s back, placing wet open mouthed kisses against her skin.

“I love you.” Lucy breathed as he pulled out with a hiss.

“I love you too…” Michael replied, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. The two of them fell asleep in their messy embraces, completely content with the lives they’d chosen to live.

That night, Lucy dreamt of the angel Manakel once again. She didn’t remember most of it, but she did remember the way the angel smiled at her and took her hand. He nodded at her, silently thanking her for saving Michael. The next morning, Lucy was awakened by the sound of Michael coming out of the bathroom after having brushed his teeth. Her mismatched eyes fluttered open, glancing over at her lover who was currently getting dressed. Lucy stayed silent as she watched him, admirking the way his beautiful body moved. She couldn’t stop herself from pouting and letting out a whine of disappointment when he pulled his pants on, her noise finally attracting his attention.

“Good morning, darling.” He said as he started buttoning up his shirt, glancing at her in the reflection of the mirror.

“Good morning, handsome.” She replied, sitting up in the bed and getting a small surprise when she realized Michael had used his magic to clean up the mess he’d left inside her, “I have no idea how it’s possible, but somehow you look even sexier when you’re putting ON clothes rather than taking them off.” Lucy teased as she sit out of the bed, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him.

“I’m just mysterious like that.” Michael smirked and turned around once he was fully dressed, kissing Lucy deeply as his hand tangled in her hair, “You need to get dressed. I just received a message from the Cooperative and the carriage will be here for us in 15 minutes.” Michael kissed her on the forehead before waving his hand, a door in the wall opening up in response. Inside were some of the finest and most high fashion garments that Lucy had ever seen, “Take your pick, Lucinda. Choose whatever makes you the most comfortable.” Everything was purple, as was protocol for the Outpost, but Lucy spotted something in the back of the closet that was unlike everything else. She reached past the thick purple fabrics to grab the bright yellow dress, pulling it out and admiring it. It was a beautiful yellow sundress, much like what she wore in their dream world, with pink flowers scattered across the skirt. She smiled to herself as she held it in her hands. She knew Michael had put it there just for her. He’d commissioned an identical copy of the dress from their dreams and put it in that closet just for her to find. She went into the bathroom and put it on, the gorgeous yellow dress fitting her like a glove. She’d also grabbed a pair of soft pink flats as well to top it all off. When Lucy returned to face Michael, his jaw dropped in awe before a huge smile crossed his face.

“Perfection.” He breathed and Lucy blushed. He walked over and kissed her again and Lucy happily kissed back. The two of them stood there, kissing for what felt like an eternity, before the alarms went off above them. Michael then took Lucy’s hand and escorted her upstairs, helping her into a radiation suit before leaving the Outpost with her in tow. Lucy immediately felt uncomfortable upon seeing the destroyed landscape once again. Everything was still covered with a thick radioactive haze and she had to silence the part of herself that reminded her that this was all Michael’s doing. The carriage was empty except for the two people driving it, but it was very similar to the one she had arrived to the Outpost in. Nevertheless, the two of them hopped inside and the carriage quickly sped off. Lucy looked up at Michael as he sat next to her. He was staring out the window with a serious expression and Lucy swore she saw a hint of sadness on his face.

Almost like he never wanted any of this in the first place.

Lucy didn’t think much of it before she reached over and took Michael’s thick gloved hand with her own. He looked over at her and she smiled. Michael felt his heart skip a beat as he met her eyes. Ever since the beginning, she’d always soothed his nerves. She’d always been able to tell when his anxiety was acting up and she responded accordingly. That was part of why he loved her so much. No matter what terrors were gripping at his heart, Lucy always knew what was needed to calm him down.

The two of them leaned against each other, sleeping nearly the entire way there. It was a long drive so they both did their best to get some rest. Lucy didn’t even wake up until she felt the carriage stop.

“Come my love.” Michael said, offering a hand as he escorted her out of the carriage. They walked for a bit through the mist before arriving at a dock. There was a small boat in the water with a man in a radiation suit at the helm. Michael quickly flashed him his credentials before the man glanced at Lucy.

“This is my only selection from Outpost 3. None of the others were worthy.” Michael said to the man before he nodded. Once Lucy and Michael sat down in the small dingy, the captain started up the engine and began sailing across the water. Lucy couldn’t see much of the body of water due to the haze, but she could tell that the water was calm, so calm in fact that it was almost like a mirror reflecting the burnt sky upon its surface. They didn’t travel for very long as soon, a large dome appeared in the distance. Lucy could see blue skies and clear waters on the other side with an island in the middle of the dome.

“Holy shit…” She breathed and Michael chuckled at her reaction.

“Lucinda, welcome to the Sanctuary.” Michael said with a smile. The boat arrived at the edge of the dome and the captain knocked a specific pattern against the glass. Soon, a door opened up and allowed them inside, quickly shutting once they had passed through. Once inside, Michael removed his helmet and so did Lucy. The two of them peeled off their suits, tossing them overboard as the captain instructed them to do. Lucy was in awe of her surroundings. For the first time in almost two years, she took a deep breath of fresh air and it nearly brought her to tears. Her curly red hair blew behind her in the wind and Michael just stared at her. She was a goddess in his eyes and he loved every single inch of her. He took her hand in his, causing her to meet his eyes and she was immediately entranced.

“My Precious Starlight… You are now the Queen of the Sanctuary.” Michael whispered as he kissed the back of her hand, helping her off the boat once they reached shore. Lucy heard the calls of birds and other animals, rather surprised by how the Cooperative managed to save so many different types of animals as well as plants. There were trees full of fruit everywhere she looked and she felt her mouth water at the sight of them. She would’ve been content with staring at the beach for the rest of her life but Michael quickly brought her back to reality. He gently tugged her by the hand, getting her attention and leading her down a stone pathway that cut through the trees. Lucy was just in shock at everything around her, unable to believe that all of this was actually happening.

“Michael… This is so beautiful!” She breathed and Michael laughed, continuing to take her down the path.

“I sure hope it is. I spent two years designing it myself.” He smirked, walking with her by his side until they came to a clearing. At the top of the hill in front of them was a massive grey building covered with windows and antennas. It was huge, so huge in fact that Lucy swore she’d never seen a building that big before.

“That is the main compound. That’s where all the sleeping quarters and essentials are. That’s where you and I will be staying.” Michael pointed to the building before his attention was drawn elsewhere, “However, there is something else I’d rather show you first.” Lucy raised an eyebrow, confused as to what he had planned, but she followed him regardless. They kept walking for quite a while until Michael stopped and pulled off his red scarf, “I’m gonna blindfold you now, ok? This is a surprise.” He explained with a smile and Lucy chuckled before nodding. Michael tied his scarf around her eyes, putting his hands on her shoulders to lead her a little ways further. Lucy heard the opening of a door and the closing of said door once they stepped inside.

“Ok… One… Two… THREE!” On three, Michael removed the scarf and the sight before her immediately brought her to tears.

They were standing in the middle of a seemingly endless green field with nothing around them for miles… except for a small hill with a singular cherry tree at the top. The breeze was delicately blowing the soft pink petals off the branches and making them dance in the wind. Lucy felt her heart swell with love and emotion as she slowly approached the cherry tree. It was exactly like the one in their dream world. She ran her hands over the bark, getting yet another surprise when she felt something carved into the tree trunk.

“ _ For Lucinda, the love of my life.”  _ The words made Lucy sob with joy once more as she turned back around to face Michael.

“You… You recreated our dream world?” She whimpered and Michael nodded.

“It was the first thing I commissioned here. I told our designers that either they added this to the Sanctuary or their families would lose their spots here.” He said with a shrug, walking over to her and taking her head in his hands, “I love you, Lucinda. You are mine and I am yours. You own my entire heart and soul and that will never change.” Michael’s words were honest and Lucy could feel it. She put her hands on his wrists, nuzzling into his hands as she sniffled.

“I love you too… So much… You’re my soulmate and I’ll never leave you… Never again.” Lucy breathed as she leaned up and kissed him hard. Michael wrapped his arms around her and held her close, picking her up and spinning her around, her hair catching some of the cherry blossom petals as he did so.

And there they were, back where it all started. The Antichrist and the woman who loved him so deeply that she defeated an impossibly powerful demon. She was the light in his ever darkening world and he was the kindness that she desperately needed. They complimented each other and gave each other true humanity.

Michael Langdon may have been a monster, but it was Lucinda Ratsch who made him human again.

For when is a monster not a monster?

Oh, when you love it...


End file.
